on  t_ 

lumbia  River 

or 

dven  tares 

in  a 


>%# 


& 


L.AWRENCE    'i 


-J*-*JP0S&* 


"Look  at  this!  Here  we  are  on  the  Columbia  river  below 
the  Kootenay  branch— all  mountains  and  forests  clear  to  the 
Fraser  river,  and  that  must  be  two  hundred  miles."  [Page  83] 

The  Boy  Scouts  on  the  Columbia  River. 


BOY  SCOUTS 

IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

OR 

ADVENTURES  ON  THE 
COLUMBIA   RIVER 


By 

G.  HARVEY  RALPHSON 

Author  of  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  AN  AIRSHIP 
BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  SUBMARINE 
BOY  SCOUTS  ON  A  MOTOR  CYCLE 
BOY. SCOUTS  IN  MEXICO 


Chicago 
M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT  1912. 
M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  COMPANY. 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


Electrotyped,  Printed  and  Bound  by 
M.  A.  DitiKthuo  &  Co. 


STACK 
AHNCX 

5125912 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.     THE  LUKE  or  HIDDEN  GOLD 7 

II.     STRANGE  HAPPENINGS  IN  THE  NIGHT 23 

III.  A  TELL-TALE  ALARM  CLOCK. 40 

IV.  THE  BLACK  BEAR  AND  THE  WOLF 55 

V.    AKBAR  AND  SAXBY  APPEAR 69 

VI.    A  BRISK  BATTLE  SOON  OVER 83 

VII.     THE  BLACK  BEAR  TAKES  A  DROP 99 

VIII.    A  BOY  SCOUT  POSTOFFICE 114 

IX.    THE  LIGHTS  IN  THE  SKY 130 

X.     AN  EAGLE  TO  THE  BESCUE 145 

XI.    THE  BLACK  BEAR  SCENTS  A  PROWLER 159 

XII.    AKBAR  PRESENTS  HIMSELF 175 

XIII.  JACK  TAKES  A  COLD  BATH 191 

XIV.  THE  QUEST  OF  THE  SKY  MAN 206 

XV.     A  BLACK  BEAR  IN  A  CAGE 219 

XVI.     THE  LAST  OF  Two  VILLAINS 229 

XVII.    RIPE  FOR  ADVENTURES  IN  THE  AIR. .  239 


Boy  Scouts  in  a  Motor  Boat; 


or 


Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  LUBE  OF  HIDDEN  GOLD. 

"And  so  this  searcher  for  the  Pirate's 
Treasure  came  to  the  mysterious  island,  after 
many  days,  and  encircled  it  in  a  boat  until  he 
came  to  a  path  made  of  flat  rocks,  set  at  reg- 
ular intervals  in  the  soil.  With  hope  beating 
high  in  his  breast,  he  followed  this  path  to 
the  end,  and  there  came  to  a  level  space  where 
no  vegetation  grew. 

1  'Here  he  began  to  dig,  for  he  reasoned  that 
the  absence  of  vegetation  in  that  fertile  spot 
indicated  that  barren  earth  from  the  bottom 
of  some  deep  excavation  had  been  brought  to 
the  surface.  After  two  hours  of  heavy  work 
with  a  spade,  the  blade  of  the  implement  rang 
sharply  against  what  seemed  to  be  a  metal 
surface. 

"Further  digging  revealed  an  iron  chest, 

7 


8  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

about  four  feet  in  size  each  way,  and  so  heavy 
that  the  resolute  searcher,  even  with  his  great 
strength,  could  not  budge  it  the  breadth  of  a 
hair.  Here,  undoubtedly,  was  the  treasure  he 
had  crossed  a  continent  and  an  ocean  to  find. 

"Finding  himself  unable  to  drag  the  chest 
out  of  the  grave  it  had  dwelt  in  so  long,  the 
searcher  next  endeavored  to  unloosen  the 
strong  iron  bands  which  held  the  cover  down. 
Once  under  that  metal  plate,  his  arms  would 
be  up  to  the  shoulders  in  pieces  of  eight  and 
precious  stones.  It  was  an  alluring  prospect, 
and  right  manfully  did  the  anxious  man  strive 
with  the  iron  strips  which  guarded  the  wealth 
within. 

"But,  tug  and  strain  as  he  would,  the  fasten- 
ings resisted  all  his  efforts.  The  bars  which 
crossed  the  top  were  cunningly  carried  to  the 
inside  through  tight-fitting  grooves  and  there 
fastened.  After  all  his  weary  journey,  after 
all  his  cruel  privations,  after  really  coming  to 
the  Pirate's  Treasure  at  last,  he  found  him- 
self as  helpless  to  gain  possession  of  it,  even  to 
touch  it,  as  if  it  had  been  stored  in  a  bank- 
vault  guarded  by  a  time-lock. 

"And  so,  after  trying  in  vain  until  darkness 
fell  to  discover  some  secret  spring  by  means  of 
which  the  lid  of  the  chest  might  be  lifted,  the 
baffled  searcher  for  the  Pirate's  Gold  restored 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVEE. 


the  loose  earth  to  the  excavation,  smoothed  it 
down  as  it  had  been  on  his  arrival,  and 
returned  with  an  empty  purse  and  a  heavy 
heart  to  his  native  country. 

"Prom  that  day  forth  he  was  known 
throughout  all  the  countryside  as  a  gold-mad 
man.  It  was  believed  that  his  incessant  and 
unsuccessful  search  for  the  Pirate's  Gold  had 
unsettled  his  brain.  Although  he  could  have 
led  a  company  to  the  exact  spot  where  the 
treasure  chest  was  hidden  in  the  rocky  soil  of 
the  mysterious  island,  no  one  would  give  either 
credence  to  his  tale  or  time  or  money  to  the  en- 
terprise, and  so  he  died  a  discredited  man, 
wanting  the  barest  necessities  of  life." 

Frank  Shaw,  the  reader,  tossed  the  news- 
paper aside  and  arose  to  his  feet  with  a  yawn 
which  ended  in  a  long,  satisfying  grunt. 

The  four  boys  sitting  in  the  glow  of  an  open 
grate  fire,  in  the  handsome  club-room  of  the 
Black  Bear  Patrol,  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
looked  their  chum  over  with  varying  expres- 
sions on  their  faces.  There  was  a  smile  in  the 
eyes  of  Ned  Nestor  which  proclaimed  misbe- 
lief in  the  story  of  buried  treasure  which  had 
just  been  read. 

Jack  Bosworth,  at  the  top  of  whose  palatial 
home  the  Boy  Scout  club-room  was  situated, 
turned  inquiring  eyes  toward  Nestor,  as  if 


10  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

waiting  for  a  verdict  from  him,  while  Harry 
Stevens  frowned  steadily  at  the  fire.  On  one 
face,  however,  there  was  a  look  of  entire  belief, 
a  look  bordering  on  enthusiasm.  Jimmie 
McGraw,  the  youngest  of  the  five  boys 
assembled  there,  lost  no  time  in  expressing  his 
opinion  of  the  tale  which  Frank  Shaw  had 
just  finished  reading. 

"Gee!"  he  cried,  springing  to  his  feet.  "I 
wish  I'd  V  been  that  feller!  If  I  couldn't 
V  got  away  with  the  stuff  I'd  V  been  sittin' 
there  yet." 

"All  Jimmie 's  hopes  for  future  wealth  are 
based  on  the  finding  of  a  pirate's  pot  of  gold," 
laughed  Harry  Stevens.  "He  goes  to  sleep 
with  a  dream  book  under  his  pillow  every  night 
of  his  life,  hoping  a  vision  will  show  him  the 
way,  during  the  dark  hours,  to  a  ton  or  so  of 
pieces  of  eight  and  a  peck  of  diamonds.  Of 
course  round,  hard,  red  American  gold 
wouldn't  answer !  The  treasure  must  be  in  old 
Spanish  pieces  of  eight,  whatever  they  are— 
or  were!" 

"Anyway,"  Jimmie  broke  in,  "you've  got 
to  show  me!  Where  does  all  the  gold  go  to? 
There's  plenty  of  it  hidden  out  of  sight.  I'll 
bet  there's  gold  hidden  right  under  the  good 
old  Bowery!" 

Jimmie,  who  had  been  a  Bowery  newsboy 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  11 

before  attaching  himself  to  the  adventurous 
spirits  of  the  Black  Bear  Patrol,  arose,  thrust 
his  hands  deep  into  his  pockets,  and  walked 
slowly  about  the  room,  looking  at  the  weapons 
and  trophies  and  holding  up  his  chin  as  if  he 
considered  his  argument  unanswerable. 

It  was  a  handsome  apartment,  and  had  long 
been  dedicated  exclusively  to  the  use  of  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  the  Black  Bear  Patrol.  The  walls 
were  hung  with  guns,  automatic  revolvers,  pad- 
dles, fishing  outfits,  bows,  arrows,  foils,  boxing- 
gloves,  and  such  trophies  as  the  Boy  Scouts 
had  brought  from  river  and  forest. 

Above  the  door  was  a  large  shield,  from  the 
center  of  which  a  huge  black  bear  lifted  an 
inquisitive  nose.  Small  duplicates  of  this  shield 
constituted  the  badges  of  the  Black  Bear 
Patrol.  The  boys  were  proud  of  their  badge, 
especially  as  the  Black  Bear  Patrol  was  uni- 
versally acknowledged  to  be  the  crack  Patrol 
of  New  York. 

The  members  of  this  Patrol  were  all  sons  of 
very  wealthy  parents.  Mr.  Shaw,  the  father 
of  Frank,  was  owner  and  editor  of  one  of  the 
most  influential  newspapers  in  the  city,  the 
Daily  Planet.  Jack  Bosworth's  father  was  a 
famous  corporation  lawyer.  The  father  of 
Harry  Stevens  was  at  the  head  of  a  great 
automobile  concern.  The  parents  of  the  other 


12  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

members,  with  whom  this  story  has  no  concern, 
were  equally  prominent  in  the  business  and 
social  circles  of  the  big  city. 

Ned  Nestor  and  Jimmie  McGraw,  present 
in  the  Black  Bear  club-room  on  this  night, 
were  members  of  the  Wolf  Patrol,  also  of  New 
York  City,  but  had  long  been  associated  with 
the  Black  Bears.  Nestor  was  principally 
employed  in  the  Secret  Service  of  the  United 
States  Government,  while  Jimmie,  originally 
a  street  waif,  was  his  constant  companion  in 
his  adventurous  undertakings,  as  were  also 
some  of  the  members  of  the  Black  Bear  Patrol. 

Members  of  the  latter  Patrol  had  accom- 
panied Ned  Nestor  to  Mexico  in  the  interest 
of  the  Secret  Service,  to  the  Panama  Canal 
Zone,  to  the  Philippines,  and  to  the  Great 
Northwest.  Nestor  was  hardly  more  than 
eighteen,  much  too  young  for  regular  enlist- 
ment in  the  Secret  Service  arm  of  the  Govern- 
ment, yet  he  was,  as  has  been  said,  often 
employed  by  the  Government,  frequently 
working  directly  under  the  orders  of  the 
^Secretary  of  War,  or  those  of  the  Secretary 
of  State. 

Those  who  have  followed  the  Boy  Scouts  to 
Mexico,  to  the  Canal  Zone,  to  the  Philippines 
and  Japan,  and  to  the  Great  Northwest  in 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  13 

previous  volumes  of  this  series*  will  readily 
understand  the  nature  of  Ned  Nestor's 
employment  without  repetition  here. 

On  this  early  May  night,  bright  but  cold  for 
that  season  of  the  year,  the  five  boys  were  dis- 
cussing a  vacation  trip  which  had  long  been 
planned.  On  leaving  the  Northwest,  where 
their  efforts  had  resulted  in  the  bringing  to 
punishment  of  numerous  forest  "fire-bugs," 
the  boys  had  promised  themselves  a  return  trip 
to  that  wonderful  country  under  conditions 
more  suited  to  leisure  and  to  forest  and  river 
sports. 

Frank  Shaw  had,  on  this  night,  interrupted 
the  discussion  with  his  tale  of  Pirate  Gold,  and 
had  for  a  time  switched  the  conversation  in 
that  direction.  He  had  found  the  story  in  the 
morning  issue  of  his  father's  newspaper,  and, 
as  will  be  seen  later,  had  a  secret  motive  in 
introducing  it  at  this  time.  Jimmie  McGraw, 
stalking  about  the  club-room  with  his  hands  in 
his  trousers  pockets,  his  mind  overflowing  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  small  boy  for  the  pirate 
tale,  was  apparently  no  more  of  an  enthusiast 
on  the  subject  of  buried  gold  than  the  son 
of  the  famous  editor  seemed  to  be. 

"Boy  Scouts  in  Mexico :  or,  On  Guard  With  Uncle  Sam." 
"Boy  Scouts  in  the  Canal  Zone ;  or.  The  Plot  Against  Uncle  Sam." 
"Boy  Scouts  in  the  Philippines;  or.  The  Key  to  the  Treaty   Box." 
"Boy  Scouts  in  the  Northwest;  or,  Fighting  Forest  Fires." 
Published  by  M.  A.   Donohue  &  Company,   Chicago.      See  advertise- 
ment  elsewhere. 


14  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

" There's  more  gold  been  wasted  in  hunting 
hidden  treasures  than  has  ever  been  brought 
to  light  by  the  searchers,"  Jack  Bosworth  said, 
presently.  "It  seems  to  me  that  the  old-time 
pirates  knew  what  to  do  with  their  ill-gotten 
wealth." 

"Of  course  they  did!"  Jimmie  exclaimed. 
"They  buried  it.  They  didn't  spend  it,  for 
they  just  took  what  they  wanted.  Say,  but 
wouldn't  it  be  about  right  for  us  to  dig  up  a 
bushel  of  pieces  of  eight?  Suppose  we  take 
our  vacation  where  there  is  a  chance  of  finding 
treasure?" 

For  a  moment  no  one  replied  to  the  sug- 
gestion, and  then  Frank  Shaw  came  to  Jim- 
mie's  assistance. 

"There's  a  good  many  places  where  gold  is 
buried,  if  you  believe  the  newspapers,"  he 
said.  "Why,  look  here,"  he  went  on,  taking 
a  newspaper  clipping  from  a  pocket,  "this 
writer  claims  that  there's  a  pirate  treasure 
buried  away  up  the  Columbia  river,  some  dis- 
tance below  the  boundary  line." 

Nestor  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed 
heartily. 

"So  that's  the  idea !"  he  exclaimed.  "You're 
insisting  on  the  Columbia  river  trip  because 
you  think  there's  gold  hidden  up  there!  I've 
been  wondering  why  you  advocated  that  trip 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  15 

so  strenuously,  why  you  brought  up  the  sub- 
ject of  hidden  gold  just  now!" 

"Well,"  Frank  said,  blushing  a  bit,  as  one 
caught  in  a  sly  move,  "I'll  admit  that  you 
have  named  one  reason  for  my  choice  of  the 
Columbia.  But,  aside  from  the  possibility  of 
finding  buried  gold,  there's  no  river  trip  in 
the  world  that  can  equal  it.  A  summer  spent 
in  a  motor  boat  on  the  Columbia  river  would 
be  about  the  height  of  human  enjoyment,  it 
seems  to  me." 

"It  sure  is  a  glorious  old  stream,"  Jack 
Bosworth  said.  "I've  been  looking  it  up  since 
this  vacation  journey  has  been  under  discus- 
sion. We  can  get  all  kinds  of  wild  game  and 
wild  thrills,  too,  and  at  the  same  time  be  only 
a  short  distance  from  a  railroad.  There's 
probably  about  as  much  buried  gold  up  there 
as  there  is  under  the  floor  of  this  room,  but  I'm 
for  the  Columbia,  for  all  that." 

"Pirate  treasure  on  the  Columbia!"  smiled 
Ned  Nestor.  * '  That  is  a  new  one  on  me.  Where 
did  you  get  that  idea,  Frank?"  he  added. 

"I  never  said  there  was  pirate  treasure 
along  the  Columbia,"  Frank  hastened  to  say, 
turning  to  Jimmie  McGraw's  eager  face  for 
support.  "What  I  said  was  that,  aside  from 
the  possibility  of  finding  buried  gold,  there's 
no  river  trip  in  the  world  to  equal  it." 


16  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"I  smell  a  gold  story  in  even  that  sentence," 
said  Jack  Bosworth.  "What  is  it,  my  brave 
boy  f  Where  have  you  located  this  wonderful 
treasure  on  the  Columbia?" 

"I  haven't  said  anything  about  locating  a 
wonderful  treasure  on  the  Columbia,"  insisted 
Frank.  "But,  all  the  same  there  may  be  one 
there.  A  treasure  brought  over  from  India 
away  back  in  1717,  or  about  that  time." 

"Tell  'em  about  it !"  urged  Jimmie  McGraw, 
who,  it  was  evident,  had  already  been  taken 
into  the  confidence  of  the  Columbia  river 
enthusiast. 

"I  guess  they've  all  read  of  it,"  Frank  con- 
tinued. i  i  Very  early  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
as  the  story  goes,  great  stores  of  gold  were 
brought  across  the  Pacific  and  hidden  in  the 
new  land.  Ever  since  the  beginning  of  history 
India,  China,  Japan,  the  whole  Great  East,  in 
fact,  have  been  hiding  gold  away.  One  writei 
says  that  gold  sinks  into  the  caverns  of  the 
East  as  water  sinks  into  the  sands  of  the  desert, 
never  to  make  its  appearance  again." 

"It  goes  somewhere,  all  right,"  admitted 
Harry  Stevens,  from  an  easy  position  on  a 
great  red  divan.  "Think  of  all  the  gold  that 
has  been  brought  out  of  the  earth  since  the 
beginning  of  the  world !  Why,  there  isn't  one- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  LIVER.  17 

tenth  of  it  in  sight  now.    It  is  hidden  away 
somewhere,  believe  me." 

"Yes,  it  goes  somewhere,"  Frank  went  on, 
encouraged  by  the  support  of  his  chum. 
"Thomas  J.  Hurley,  of  the  American  Insti- 
tute of  Mining  Engineers,  says  in  a  recent 
work  that  every  year  a  great  yellow  stream 
flows  into  the  East,  a  never-ending  stream  that 
never  turns  back.  He  says  that  the  work  of 
gold-absorption  in  Asia  has  been  going  on  for 
thousands  of  years,  and  will  never  cease.  I  've 
been  reading  it  up,  '  '  he  added,  as  Nestor  turned 
a  smiling  face  in  his  direction. 

"It  is  interesting,  anyway,"  Nestor  said. 

"In  the  Regency  of  Bombay  alone,"  Frank 
continued,  referring  to  a  newspaper  clipping 
in  his  hand,  "$60,000,000  in  gold  are  said  to 
be  concealed.  Every  class  of  Hindus  is  given 
to  gold  hoarding.  Even  the  gods  of  India 
whistle  for  it  through  the  lips  of  their  priests. 
It  comes  pouring  into  the  sacred  temples  from 
all  directions,  and  finds  shelter  in  subterranean 
passages  to  which  only  priests  have  entrance." 

"I  hope  you're  not  going  to  run  the  Co- 
lumbia river  under  one  of  the  temples  of 
India,"  laughed  Jack,  rather  nervously,  "and 
so  impregnate  its  water  with  gold.  Come  back 
to  the  trip  we've  been  talking  about." 

I  was  asked  to  account  for  the  alleged 


" 


18  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

treasure  along  the  Columbia,"  Frank  said, 
rather  angrily,  "and  I'm  getting  at  it  as  fast 
as  I  can.  The  treasure  I  am  speaking  of  came 
across  the  Pacific  in  the  early  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century — came  from  the  sacred 
temples  of  India." 

"Ever  think  of  turning  your  genius  to  fic- 
tion?" asked  Jack,  uneasily. 

"Never  you  mind,"  Frank  continued,  with 
a  grin.  "  This  is  history.  In  India  at  the  time 
I  speak  of  a  succession  of  nominal  sovereigns, 
sunk  in  ignorance  and  debauchery,  ruled  from 
sequestered  palaces,  intent  only  on  their  own 
pleasures.  It  is  only  natural,  then,  that 
Viceroys  formed  their  provinces  into  inde- 
pendent states,  while  Hindu  and  Mohammedan 
adventurers  carved  out  kingdoms  with  the 
sword." 

"That's  history,  sure  enough!"  Harry 
Stevens  interrupted. 

"Of  course  it  is,"  Frank  said,  in  rather  an 
injured  tone  of  voice.  "Well,  these  self-made 
Viceroys  and  Kings  and  Princes  were  robbers, 
and  did  not  respect  the  rights  of  those  who  had 
accumulated  gold,  so  one  Akbar,  named  for  the 
monarch  of  the  same  name,  doubtless,  got  mil- 
lions and  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  the  yel- 
low stuff  together,  loaded  it  on  board  the 
strongest  vessel  he  could  find,  and  secretly  set 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  19 

out  for  the  new  world,  where  he  hoped  to  retain 
his  wealth  in  peace." 

"Where  did  you  get  the  fable?"  asked  Jack, 
who  had  been  moving  restlessly  about  the  room 
during  the  recital.  "Who  told  it  to  you,  and 
where  did  your  informant  get  his  informa- 
tion?" added  the  boy,  speaking  earnestly. 

Never  you  mind,"  laughed  Frank.  "I  sup- 
pose you're  already  wise  to  the  hidden  gold, 
and  want  to  get  there  first !  Well,  the  gold  was, 
according  to  the  tale,  brought  over  here  in  1720, 
or  thereabouts.  The  early  explorers  found 
strange  buildings  along  the  Columbia.  Captain 
Gray,  who  explored  the  stream  in  the  ship 
Columbia,  in  the  interest  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  in  1792,  told  of  strange  building 
materials  in  ruins  in  the  great  canyons." 

"It  is  all  rot!"  exclaimed  Jack  impatiently. 
"Where  did  he  land  this  wonderful  cargo  of 
gold?" 

"It  is  said  that  he  took  it  up  the  Columbia 
river,  deeper  then  than  now,  and  built  his 
temples  somewhere  on  the  west  bank,  between 
the  meeting  of  the  Okanogan  river  with  the 
Columbia  and  the  junction  of  the  Spokane 
river  with  the  latter.  At  any  rate,  there  are 
said  to  be  ruins  of  old  building  in  the  canyons 
of  that  district." 


20  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Does  your  father  know  of  this  inventive 
talent  in  his  son?"  laughed  Jack. 

"That's  all  about  buried  gold,"  Frank  went 
on,  "but  I've  got  nine  thousand  reasons  to 
give  you  why  we  ought  to  choose  the  Columbia 
for  our  vacation  trip." 

"Never  mind  the  nine  thousand  reasons," 
Ned  said,  "for  we  know : 

The  tipping  of  a  large  screen  at  the  back  of 
the  room  here  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
boys.  The  screen  seemed  to  be  steadied  by  an 
unseen  hand  for  an  instant,  and  then  fell  quite 
to  the  floor  and  a  door  closed  sharply  behind 
a  fleeing  figure. 

"That's  Akbar  III.,  as  we  call  him,"  Jack 
cried,  as  the  figure  disappeared.  "He  came 
from  India  with  father  a  year  ago.  He's  been 
standing  there  listening!" 

"Is  he  really  an  East  Indian?"  asked  Ned, 
carelessly. 

"Sure  he  is,"  replied  Jack.  "If  you  leave 
it  to  him,  he's  a  descendant  of  the  original 
Akbar — Akbar  son  of  Humayun,  son  of 
Baber!  Father  took  a  notion  to  him  and 
brought  him  from  India.  Funny  he  should 
have  been  listening  there  while  Frank  was 
telling  us  about  the  old,  old  Akbar!  I'll  bet 
he's  grinning  now  at  the  very  idea  of  that  old 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  21 

reprobate  hiding  gold  and  building  temples  in 
the  Columbia  river  country!" 

"You'd  lose!"  cried  Jimmie.  "What  do 
you  suppose  he  dropped  his  caste  prejudices 
for  an'  come  over  here?  What  was  he  listen- 
ing for?  Huh!  He'll  be  on  a  hot  foot  to  the 
Columbia  river  before  morning!" 

"He's  no  such  fool!"  scorned  Jack,  who 
pretended  to  regard  Frank's  story  as  pure 
fiction. 

"You'll  see!"  said  Jimmie.  "Why,  that's 
what  he  came  here  for!" 

"This  grows  interesting,"  Ned  observed, 
looking  thoughtfully  into  the  flames. 

"You  know  it!"  cried  Frank.  "When  do 
we  start?" 

"Oh,  well!"  laughed  Ned,  "If  you  boys  are 
set  on  hunting  for  hidden  gold  as  well  as  taking 
a  motor  boat  trip,  we  may  as  well  get  started 
as  soon  as  possible.  Only  don't  count  too  much 
on  ruined  temples  and  buried  treasure  in  the 
valley  of  the  Columbia." 

The  other  boys  joined  hands  and  circled 
about  the  room,  uttering  the  calls  of  the  Black 
Bear  and  Wolf  Patrols.  They  had  long  been 
reckoning  on  this  trip,  and  now  it  seemed  very 
near  to  them. 

"While  you  boys  are  looking  for  ruined 
temples  and  gold,"  laughed  Jack  Bosworth, 


22  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

breaking  away  from  the  circle,  "  I  '11  be  looking 
for  hidden  treasures  in  the  soil.  Why,  that 
country  is  richer  than  mud!  There's  where 
all  the  fine  apples  and  grains  will  come  from 
in  future  years.  There  is  gold  in  the  earth  of 
the  Columbia  river  country,"  he  added,  "but 
you've  got  to  get  it  out  with  agricultural  imple- 
ments." 

"You  just  wait!"  Frank  said.  "I'll  convince 
you!" 

In  a  short  time  the  boys  parted  for  the  night, 
and  the  house  was  still. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  23 


CHAPTER  II. 

STKANGE  HAPPENINGS  IN  THE  NIGHT. 

Jack  Bosworth  did  not  fall  asleep  imme- 
diately on  retiring,  as  was  Ms  usual  habit.  His 
mind  was  excited  over  the  events  of  the  even- 
ing. He  was  enthusiastic  over  the  proposed 
river  trip,  and,  besides,  his  mind  dwelt  with 
peculiar  tenacity  on  the  appearance  in  the 
club-room  of  the  East  Indian.  That  the  fellow 
had  overheard  the  story  Frank  had  told  he 
could  not  doubt. 

Would  Akbar,  as  had  been  suggested,  set  out 
at  once  in  quest  of  the  treasure?  Was  it  a 
fact  that  he  had  come  to  America  with  the 
sole  view  of  finding  this  gold  ?  And  where  had 
Frank  heard  this  tale  ?  How  generally  was  it 
known?  These  were  the  questions  which 
demanded  attention,  and  which  he  could  not 
answer. 

"  I  '11  find  out  to-morrow, ' '  he  thought,  * l  what 
Frank  means  by  telling  such  a  yarn,  and  where 
he  received  his  information." 

When  he  tried  to  sleep  temples  with  fallen 
walls  all  overgrown  with  vines  and  moss  moved 
in  procession  through  his  brain.  A  dozen  times 
he  heard  the  sweep  of  waves  against  project- 


24  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

ing  walls,  and  at  last  lie  gave  up  the  notion  of 
sleeping  at  all  that  night.  For  reasons  of  his 
own,  he  did  not  care  to  have  Frank  so  eager 
over  this  temple  matter,  and  this  troubled  his 
dreams,  also ! 

While  he  lay  there,  wide-eyed,  the  sound  of 
a  closing  door  in  the  lower  part  of  the  house 
reached  his  ears.  Wondering  who  it  might  be 
that  was  stirring  at  that  hour,  he  arose,  clothed 
only  in  his  pajamas,  and  sat  down  by  a  win- 
dow facing  the  street,  the  sash  of  which  was 
lifted  a  foot  or  more. 

It  was  now  after  midnight,  and  the  moon 
was  lifting  over  the  residence  district  to  the 
east.  There  were  no  loiterers  in  the  street, 
and  the  hum  of  the  city  came  faintly  to  his 
ears.  The  house  stands  on  the  north  side  of  a 
fine  residence  street,  and  there  was  a  line  of 
shadows  along  the  pavement  on  that  side,  the 
opposite  walk  being  bright  under  the  rays  of 
the  moon.  The  daub  of  shadows  in  which  the 
porches  and  areas  on  the  north  side  lay  nar- 
rowed as  the  moon  rose  higher. 

As  the  boy  sat  looking  out,  and  listening,  too, 
for  some  further  sound  within  the  house,  a 
figure  appeared  on  the  porch  below.  There  had 
been  no  indications  of  the  opening  or  closing 
of  the  great  entrance  door,  and  the  figure  below 
had  not  come  from  the  street,  so  the  boy  rea- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVER.  25 

soned  that  it  must  have  left  the  interior  cau- 
tiously, slyly! 

Why?  Jack  asked.  Why  had  he  left  the 
house  so  silently?  Was  he  a  member  of  the 
household,  out  for  a  ramble  in  the  city  at 
night?  Was  he  a  stranger,  in  the  residence 
during  the  dark  hours  for  no  honest  purpose  ? 
Jack  resolved  to  remain  quiet  in  the  hope  of 
finding  answers  to  these  questions. 

The  moon,  lifting  higher  and  pushing  the 
shadows  down  as  it  shone  more  freely  on  the 
front  of  the  house,  at  length  brought  the  head 
of  the  man  below  into  view,  leaving  the  shoul- 
ders and  body  dimly  seen,  as  if  the  fellow  were 
wading  in  black  water  up  to  his  neck.  Jack 
had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  face  as  that 
of  Akbar!  But  what  was  he  doing  there  at 
that  time  of  night  ? 

"Now  I  wonder,"  thought  the  boy,  "if  Ak- 
bar is  prowling  around  thinking  of  that  hid- 
den gold  ?  And  I  wonder  if  he  is  making  ar- 
rangements to  go  in  search  of  it?  If  he  is, 
he's  a  long  way  ahead  of  the — the  Boy  Scout 
expedition, ' '  with  which  odd  conclusion  the  lad 
moved  about  so  as  to  get  a  better  view  of  what 
went  on  below. 

The  East  Indian  stood  like  a  graven  image 
on  the  porch  for  a  moment,  then  moved  slowly 
down  the  steps.  He  bent  his  head  this  way 


26  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

and  that,  and  seemed  to  be  watching  for  some 
one.  Whenever  a  footstep  sounded  in  a  nearby 
street  he  advanced  a  pace  and  then  drew  back 
again  when  the  sound  passed  on. 

Five  minutes  passed,  and  then  a  figure 
turned  a  corner  two  houses  to  the  west  and  ap- 
proached the  spot  where  Akbar  stood.  The 
two  faced  each  other  silently  for  a  moment, 
and  Jack  noted  the  strange  similarity  of  figure 
and  feature.  Then  they  withdrew  to  the  shel- 
ter of  the  deep  doorway.  By  leaning  far  out 
of  his  window,  at  the  risk  of  tumbling  into  the 
area  below,  and  also  at  the  risk  of  discovery, 
Jack  now  and  then  caught  sight  of  a  hand  ex- 
tended as  if  in  impassioned  gesture,  but  not  a 
word  of  what  was  being  said  could  he  hear. 

Determined  to  learn  something  of  what  was 
going  on,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  Jack 
passed  out  of  his  suite,  after  hastily  drawing 
on  his  trousers  and  slippers,  and  stood  for  an 
instant  at  the  head  of  the  great  staircase  lead- 
ing to  the  first  floor  of  the  house.  It  was  his 
intention  to  make  his  way  to  the  lower  hall 
and  station  himself  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
door  beyond  which  this  secret  conversation  was 
going  on. 

From  that  position  it  might  be  possible  to 
learn  something  of  the  business  being  con- 
ducted there  at  that  unusual  hour,  but  the  prin- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVER.  27 

cipal  reason  for  choosing  that  point  was  that 
he  might  from  there  follow  the  movements  of 
the  East  Indian  if  he  re-entered  the  house. 
Jack  was  too  honorable  a  boy  to  be  given  to 
the  listening  habit,  but  under  the  circum- 
stances he  considered  that  he  was  fully  justi- 
fied in  learning  all  that  he  could,  and  in 
any  way  he  could,  of  the  stealthy  interview 
which  was  taking  place  just  outside  the  big 
door. 

The  boy  found  the  lights  in  the  corridor 
burning  unusually  low  when  he  closed  his  own 
door  and  stood  listening  at  the  head  of  the 
staircase.  All  was  still  in  the  house,  not  even 
the  tumblings  of  a  restless  sleeper  being  heard. 

As  Jack  stepped  downward  he  noticed  that 
there  was  a  dim  glow  on  the  transom  of  the 
den,  a  room  directly  across  the  corridor  from 
his  own  suite.  This  was  unusual,  and  he  paused 
an  instant  to  investigate.  A  straight  line 
drawn  from  his  own  door  to  that  of  the  den — 
a  room  used  exclusively  by  his  father — would 
have  passed  across  the  entrance  to  the  stair- 
case, so  the  boy  had  only  a  few  steps  to  take  to 
reach  the  lighted  transom. 

Standing  at  the  door,  his  hand  on  the  knob, 
he  heard  noises  inside  which  sounded  like  the 
opening  and  closing  of  drawers  and  the  rat- 
tling of  papers.  The  boy  was  startled  by  what 


28  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

he  heard,  for  that  room  was  his  father's  exclu- 
sive retiring  place,  and  he  knew  that  his  father 
would  not  be  working  there  at  that  hour  and  in 
that  dim  light.  For  all  he  knew  Akbar  might 
have  admitted  some  thief  to  the  house. 

It  was  an  unnerving  proposition,  these  queer 
doings  in  that  ordinarily  quiet  house,  and  Jack 
was,  perhaps,  unduly  excited  at  the  thought 
of  facing  burglars  there ;  at  any  rate,  the  hand 
on  the  door  knob  trembled  slightly  and  rattled 
the  metals  of  the  lock.  Then,  quick,  almost, 
as  a  flash,  came  a  voice  from  the  inside. 

"Who  is  there?"  the  question  came,  in  a 
low  tone. 

For  an  instant  Jack  made  no  answer.  That 
certainly  was  not  his  father's  voice.  It  was 
equally  certain  that  no  one  else  had  a  right 
in  that  room  at  that  time.  Just  what  to  do  the 
boy  could  not  instantly  decide.  While  he 
waited  he  heard  the  front  door  close  softly. 
Then  hurried  steps  were  heard  in  the  lower 
corridor.  That  would  be  Akbar  coming  in 
from  the  strange  conference  on  the  porch. 

Jack  was  now  more  puzzled  than  ever  as  to 
what  course  to  pursue.  If  he  entered  the  den 
he  might  be  attacked  and  Akbar,  alarmed  by 
the  noise  of  conflict,  would  be  able  to  either 
leave  the  house  or  retire  to  his  own  room,  thus 
baffling  the  intended  surveillance  made  neces- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEE.  29 

sary  by  the  occurrences  of  the  time.  If  he  left 
the  den  to  its  fate  and  followed  Akbar,  great 
damage  might  be  wrought  there.  Jack  knew 
that  money  was  never  kept  in  the  den,  but  he 
knew,  also,  that  papers  of  great  value  were 
often  left  there. 

Realizing  at  last  that  he  could  not  watch  both 
points  of  suspicion,  Jack  finally  decided  to 
turn  his  attention  to  the  preservation  of  his 
father's  papers  and  let  Akbar 's  case  go  until 
another  time.  He  could  not  believe,  as  Jimmie 
had  hinted,  that  the  East  Indian  would  really 
set  out  immediately  in  quest  of  the  buried  gold, 
if  he  set  out  at  all,  and  resolved  to  have  it  out 
with  him  the  next  morning.  He  wished  de- 
voutly for  assistance,  but  was  to  plucky  to  call 
out  for  help. 

He  pushed  on  the  door,  but  it  did  not  open 
far.  Some  heavy  hand  was  pressing  steadily 
against  it,  for  it  swung  to  when  the  force  he 
was  using  ceased.  There  was  a  silent  struggle 
as  the  door  was  pushed  back  and  forth,  and 
then  the  voice  which  had  spoken  before  asked : 

"Who  is  it?" 

"Jack,"  panted  the  boy,  pushing  against  the 
door  with  all  his  strength.  "What  are  you  do- 
ing in  here  in  the  night  ?"  he  added,  thrusting  a 
foot  into  the  narrow  opening  so  that  the  door 
might  not  be  wholly  closed  again. 


30  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Then,  much  to  his  astonishment  and  momen- 
tary terror,  the  pressure  on  the  back  of  the 
door  was  removed  and  a  hand  and  arm  reached 
out  into  the  corridor  and  seized  him  by  the 
shoulder. 

"Come  in  here,  quick,  and  close  the  door," 
the  voice  said. 

Jack  obeyed  instantly ;  in  fact,  he  was  prac- 
tically pulled  into  the  dim  room,  which  seemed 
in  great  disorder.  In  the  faint  light  he  recog- 
nized the  man  who  had  spoken  as  Homer 
Saxby,  chauffeur  and  man  of  all  work  about 
the  house  and  garage.  The  man  had  long  been 
in  the  employ  of  the  attorney,  and  had  often 
accompanied  Mr.  Bosworth  on  his  journeys 
abroad  —  acting  as  valet  occasionally  —  but 
there  had  never  been  any  friendship  between 
him  and  Jack. 

Saxby  was  short  and  muscular,  with  a  bull- 
like  neck  and  small,  sharp  black  eyes.  He  was 
almost  as  dusky  and  as  dark  of  hair  as  Akbar, 
the  East  Indian,  and  was  almost  as  well  versed 
in  the  languages,  dialects  and  customs  of  the 
Far  East.  He  was  of  middle  age,  and  seemed 
to  have  no  intimate  friends  or  familiars  of  any 
sort,  or  even  acquaintances,  outside  of  the  fam- 
ily he  served. 

"What  are  you  doing  here  ?"  Jack  asked,  his 
eyes  flashing  suspicion. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  31 

Saxby  did  not  answer  the  question  immedi- 
ately. Instead  lie  asked  one. 

"Is  there  someone  moving  about  out  there?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Jack.  "Akbar  is  prowling 
about  the  house.  I  heard  a  noise  and  came  out 
to  see  what  it  meant." 

Saxby  now  closed  the  door  gently  and  turned 
on  the  lights,  revealing  drawers  emptied  of 
their  contents  and  lying  overturned  on  the  rug. 
Papers  were  scattered  about  in  all  directions, 
and  a  small  safe,  rarely  left  unlocked,  was  wide 
open,  its  contents  sifting  out  on  the  floor. 

"I  should  think  he  was  prowling  about  the 
house,"  Saxby  said.  "Look  at  this  room!  I 
saw  him  leaving  it  not  long  ago  and  came  in  to 
see  what  was  up.  I  was  trying  to  straighten 
it  up  a  bit  when  I  heard  your  hand  on  the 
door." 

Jack  gazed  about  the  apartment  in  wonder 
and  dismay. 

"There'll  be  doings  when  father  knows  of 
this, ' '  he  said.  ' '  Perhaps  I  'd  better  go  and  get 
him  out  of  bed." 

"Your  father  is  out  of  the  city,"  Saxby  re- 
plied, stooping  over  to  rescue  a  sheaf  of  papers 
from  the  floor.  "I  went  to  the  Grand  Central 
station  with  him  early  in  the  evening,  and  re- 
mained out  until  half  an  hour  ago.  Then, 
when  I  came  home,  I  went  to  the  garage  with 


32  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

the  machine  and  so  came  up  the  back  stair- 
way." 

Saxby  ceased  speaking  and  lifted  his  hand 
in  warning.  There  were  footfalls  in  the  corri- 
dor outside. 

"You  may  as  well  open  the  door,7'  Jack  sug- 
gested. "  Any  one  out  there  would  know  the 
room  was  occupied  by  the  lights  being  on.  It 
may  be  Akbar.  I  saw  him  talking  with  some 
one  down  on  the  porch,  and  he  may  have 
brought  the  fellow  into  the  house,  so  we'd  bet- 
ter be  careful,  as  there  may  be  two  of  them." 

"I  don't  believe  it  is  Akbar,"  Saxby  whis- 
pered. "He  wouldn't  dare  come  back  here 
after  making  all  this  muss." 

"How  do  you  know  he  made  it  ?"  Jack  asked, 
regarding  Saxby  suspiciously.  "He  came  into 
the  house,  I'm  sure,  and  he  wouldn't  come 
boldly  here  if  he  had  been  guilty  of  searching 
this  room." 

"Perhaps  he  doesn't  know  that  his  intrusion 
has  been  discovered,"  suggested  Saxby.  "He 
didn't  see  me  when  I  came  up." 

"And  the  den  all  lit  up  in  this  way!"  Jack 
said.  "If  he  did  it,  he  must  know  that  the 
outrage  is  now  known,  for  the  room  isn't  as 
he  left  it,  if  he  left  it  at  all  tonight.  Open  the 
door  and  we'll  see  how  he  acts." 

The  knob  was  turned,  but  the  door  did  not 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  33 

open.  Jack  walked  over  to  it  and  found  it 
locked.  He  looked  accusingly  at  Saxby  and 
was  about  to  speak  when  the  sound  of  a  heavy 
article  being  dragged  over  the  floor  came  from 
outside. 

"What's  going  on  here  tonight?"  Jack  de- 
manded, facing  Saxby  with  suspicious  eyes. 
"Why  is  the  door  locked?  What  is  that  noise 
in  the  hall?  Go  to  the  'phone  and  call  the 
police.  Use  father's  private  one.  there  on  the 
window-seat." 

"That's  out  of  order,"  said  Saxby.  "Keep 
out  of  range  of  that  transom!"  he  added,  as 
Jack  moved  toward  the  door.  '  *  I  think  I  know 
what  that  noise  out  there  means." 

Almost  involuntarily  Jack  stepped  aside  and 
Saxby  did  the  same.  They  were  not  a  second 
to  soon,  for  something  whizzed  past  the 
boy's  head  and  struck  on  the  opposite  wall. 
Quick  as  a  flash  Saxby  leaned  forward  and 
seized  it,  keeping  out  of  range  of  the  transom 
as  he  did  so. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that?"  Jack  asked. 
"What  is  it?"  he  added,  as  Saxby  bent  over 
the  object.  "It  might  be  one  of  Cupid's 
dart?!" 

"It  is  a  olart,  all  right,"  replied  Saxby,  his 
face  turning  paler.  "But  anything  but  a  Cupid 
dart!  It's  poisoned!  A  scratch  from  that 


34  BO?  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

point  means  death!  Now  you  can  see  why  I 
locked  the  door.  IVe  met  with  such  weapons 
before." 

Then,  for  the  first  time  in  its  very  exclusive 
existence,  pistol  shots  sounded  in  the  Bosworth 
house.  For  the  first  time  in  its  history  the 
acrid  fumes  of  powder  smoke  drifted  down  its 
wide  corridors.  Saxby  had  fired  at  the  tran- 
som, from  which  the  dart  had  come,  and  the 
glass  rattled  down  on  the  floor. 

It  seemed  to  the  boy  as  if  he  had  suddenly 
been  transferred  from  the  eminent1^  respect- 
able house  to  some  savage  land  where  force  and 
cunning  were  the  prime  factors  in  human  life. 
It  was  all  bizarre,  unaccountable,  unreal. 

Then  there  was  a  fall  outside,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment excited  voices  were  heard  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  house,  and  in  the  servants'  quarters 
above.  Alarmed  by  the  pistol  shots,  the  occu- 
pants of  the  place  were  stirring.  Presently 
there  came  a  sharp  ring  of  a  telephone  bell. 

Saxby  seemed  reluctant  to  approach  or  open 
the  locked  door,  but  Jack  hastened  there  and 
turned  the  key  and  the  knob.  Something  stand- 
ing in  the  corridor  and  leaning  against  the  door 
toppled  forward  and  swayed  into  the  room. 

"He  brought  a  step-ladder  from  some- 
where," Jack  said,  lifting  the  article  out  of  the 
way.  "That's  what  he  dragged  over  the  floor, 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  35 

and  that's  what  he  stood  on  while  throwing 
the  dart." 

" Who's  iip  there?"  came  the  voice  of  the 
housekeeper  from  below. 

' '  Jack, ' '  was  the  reply.  ' '  What 's  coming  off 
here?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  came  the  voice  of  the 
housekeeper.  "There's  been  shooting,  and 
some  one  may  have  been  killed,  and  I  can't  get 
central." 

"Who  was  it  that  just  passed  down  the 
stairs?"  asked  Saxby,  now  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  staircase  by  Jack's  side. 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  the  housekeeper. 
"I  heard  the  door  bang,  and  that's  all  I  know 
about  it.  I  wish  you'd  come  down  and  see  if 
you  can  get  central.  We  must  have  the  police 
here  immediately." 

"Is  that  wise?"  whispered  Saxby  in  Jack's 
ear. 

Jack  thought  for  an  instant  and  decided  that 
it  would  hardly  answer  to  bring  the  police  into 
the  house  in  the  absence  of  his  father.  The 
newspapers  would  be  sure  to  get  the  story,  and 
the  home  of  the  attorney  would  be  besieged  by 
reporters  for  days.  That  would  never  answer. 

"Wait,"  the  boy  said,  descending  the  stairs 
and  addressing  the  rattled  housekeeper,  "and 
I'll  see  what  I  can  do.  There's  no  one  hurt, 


36  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

and  nothing  wrong,  except  that  the  den  has 
been  turned  upside  down  and  someone  has  been 
trying  to  kill  either  Saxby  or  myself." 

"That's  enough,  goodness  knows!"  cried  the 
housekeeper,  wringing  her  hands.  "And  I 
heard  shooting  and  breaking  glass!  Why 
don't  you  hurry  and  get  the  police  here?" 

"All  right,"  Jack  replied,  "I'll  attend  to 
that  and  you'd  better  go  and  waken  Akbar 
and  some  of  the  others.  We  ought  to  have  the 
house  searched,  for  the  man  who  rifled  the  den 
may  be  still  here." 

Saxby  opened  his  lips  to  say  that  Akbar 
would  not  be  found  in  his  room,  or  even  in  the 
house,  but  Jack  stopped  him. 

"Let  her  go,"  he  said,  "it  will  give  her 
something  to  do,  and  so  occupy  her  mind,  and 
at  the  same  time  let  us  know  if  he  really  has 
gone.  There  is  no  knowing  if  it  was  Akbar 
who  climbed  up  to  the  transom." 

"Have  your  own  way,"  growled  Saxby, 
"but,  if  it  wasn't  him,  what  was  he  prowling 
about  the  house  for?  Tell  me  that." 

"Why,  you  were  prowling  about  the  house, 
too,"  Jack  suggested. 

Instead  of  calling  the  police,  Jack  called 
Ked  Nestor's  number  and  asked  him  to  come 
over  at  once.  Saxbv  looked  relieved  when  Jack 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  37 

concluded  the  short  conversation  and  hung  up 
the  receiver. 

"One  of  your  Boy  Scouts,"  Saxby  said,  with 
a  half  sneer.  "Well,  that  may  be  better  than 
calling  the  public  police  into  the  house.  This 
lad,  this  Ned  Nestor,  think 's  he's  a  little  brass 
god  on  red  wheels  when  it  comes  to  solving 
mysteries,  eh?"  he  added. 

Before  Jack  could  make  a  fitting  reply  to  the 
uncalled  for  sneer,  the  frightened  housekeeper 
returned  with  the  information  that  Akbar  was 
not  in  his  room,  and  that  his  bed  had  not  been 
disturbed. 

"Are  his  clothes  and  toilet  articles  in 
place?"  asked  Jack. 

"No!"  cried  the  housekeeper,  wringing  her 
hands.  "His  room  is  stripped,  and  I  found 
the  window  open.  He  must  have  left  by  the 
roof  of  the  kitchen  annex." 

Jack  did  not  think  this  quick  exit  of  the  East 
Indian  at  all  remarkable,  for  he  knew  that  the 
throwing  of  the  dart  through  the  transom  of 
the  den  would  naturally  have  to  be  explained, 
and  it  was  his  notion  that  Akbar  was  in  no 
position  to  render  a  satisfactory  explanation 
of  his  movements  of  the  night.  This  flight 
seemed  to  clear  the  atmosphere  of  suspicion  so 
far  as  Saxby  was  concerned,  and  the  boy 
turned  to  him  with  a  smile. 


38  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Akbar  must  have  been  planning  flight  for 
a  long  time,"  he  said,  "and  he  must  have  had 
a  fancy  for  something  in  some  of  the  drawers 
in  the  den.  Have  you  any  idea  what  it  was  he 
wanted  ?"  he  added  glancing  keenly  at  the  man. 

Saxby,  although  presumably  relieved  of  sus- 
picion by  the  flight  of  the  other,  did  not  seem 
entirely  pleased  with  either  the  question  or  the 
situation.  He  shook  his  head,  acting  anxious 
and  nervous,  and  insisted  on  going  at  once  to 
the  den  to  discover,  if  possible,  he  said,  what 
had  been  taken  by  the  dishonest  servant. 

"We  can't  tell  a  thing  about  it  until  father 
returns,"  Jack  said.  "All  we  can  do  now  is  to 
try  to  catch  Akbar  before  he  gets  out  of  New 
York." 

Still  Saxby  insisted  on  going  to  the  den,  and 
while  the  discussion  was  on  the  door  bell  rang 
and  Ned  Nestor  was  admitted.  In  a  few  words 
he  was  informed  of  all  that  was  known  of  the 
happenings  of  the  night  and  was  then  con- 
ducted to  the  den. 

"If  you'll  excuse  us,"  the  boy  said,  turning 
to  Saxby,  who  had  followed  on  to  the  very 
door  of  the  room,  "Jack  and  I  would  like  to 
look  through  the  room  alone.  If  you'll  kindly 
remain  up  for  a  short  time,  we'll  keep  you 
posted  as  to  our  discoveries." 

Saxby  turned  away  with  an  angry  frown, 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  39 

muttering  under  his  breath  something  about 
"fresh  Boy  Scouts,"  and  Ned  locked  the  door 
in  his  scowling  face. 

Much  to  Jack's  surprise,  the  first  thing  Nes- 
tor did  was  to  pick  a  small  alarm  clock  from  the 
floor,  note  the  time  it  showed,  and  proceed  to 
wind  it.  It  had  been  jarred  off  its  little  shelf 
by  the  tipping  of  a  tall  cabinet. 

"And  so  Saxby  says  he  entered  the  room  just 
before  you  came,  does  he?"  asked  Ned. 
"Well,  do  you  see  what  time  this  clock 
stopped  ?  Eight  o  'clock !  "Well,  he  was  in  here 
at  that  hour — perhaps  long  before  that.  I 
have  two  ways  of  proving  that  to  you.  See  if 
you  don't  agree  with  me." 


40  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

CHAPTER  HI. 

A  TELL-TALE  ALARM  CLOCK. 

Jack  regarded  Nestor  with  an  amused 
twinkle  in  his  eyes. 

"I  knew  you'd  fall  for  it,"  he  said,  grinning. 
"  You  take  to  this  Sherlock  Holmes  work  like  a 
duck  to  a* pond.  But,  all  the  same,  I'd  like  to 
know  how  you  figure  out  that  Saxby  was  in 
this  room  at  eight  o'clock,  or  before,  when  he 
says  he  took  father  to  the  Grand  Central  sta- 
tion and  returned  less  than  an  hour  ago." 

"Well,"  Nestor  said,  pointing  to  the  cabinet, 
the  top  drawer  of  which  was  half  open,  "you 
notice  the  under  side  of  that  drawer  ?  What  is 
it  that  discolors  the  wood  ?  Blood  I  That's  the 
way  it  looks  to  me.  Now,  see  how  the  blood 
came  there.  The  cabinet  stood  right  there, 
under  the  clockshelf ,  or  really  against  it,  on  one 
side,  rather." 

"That's  where  it  belongs,"  Jack  said,  won- 
dering what  that  had  to  do  with  fixing  the  time 
of  Saxby 's  arrival  there. 

"See  how  simple  it  is,"  Nestor  went  on. 
"Saxby  came  in  here  early  in  the  evening  and 
began  searching  the  drawers  of  that  cabinet. 
What  he  wanted  there  is  for  us  to  find  out  later 
on.  He  did  the  work  hastily,  and  searched  one 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  41 

drawer  before  stopping  to  close  another.  Now, 
do  you  see?" 

"Not  yet,"  Jack  replied. 

"At  any  rate,"  Ned  continued,  "he  left  the 
top  drawer  open  while  he  bent  his  head  to  look 
through  the  bottom  one.  Then  he  lifted  his 
head  quickly  and  bumped  the  upper  drawer. 
There's  where  he  struck  it — where  the  blood  is. 
The  blow  tipped  the  light  cabinet  and  it  struck 
the  clockshelf  and  knocked  the  clock  down. 
The  clock  stopped  at  eight  o'clock,  so  that  is 
the  time  it  fell.  So  Saxby  was  here  at  eight 
o'clock,  if  not  earlier." 

"Oh,  yes,"  Jack  remarked,  "but  any  other 
man  might  have  knocked  the  cabinet  and  upset 
the  clock.  Yon  don't  know  that  it  was  Saxby. 
He  says  Akbar  was  in  here." 

"Haven't  I  mentioned,"  Ned  asked,  ignor- 
ing the  reference  to  Akbar,  "that  Saxby  has  a 
little  three-cornered  wound  on  his  forehead, 
just  at  the  edge  of  the  hair?" 

"No,  you  haven't,"  Jack  replied,  "and  I 
don't  thinks  he  has,  either.  I 've  been  with  him 
tonight,  standing  around  in  this  room,  and  I've 
seen  nothing  of  the  sort." 

"Look  closer  when  you  see  him  again,"  ad- 
vised Ned.  "I  shouldn't  have  noticed  the 
wound  if  he  hadn't  kept  putting  a  hand  to  it." 

"Then  you  think  Saxby  is  the  one  who 


42  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

stirred  things  up  in  here  I"  asked  Jack,  with 
the  manner  of  one  taking  a  defeat  gracefully. 
"I  begin  to  think  so  myself." 

"I  don't  think  anything  about  it — yet,"  Ned 
replied.  "We  know,  though,  that  he  was  here 
before  eight  o'clock,  and  that  he  had  the  whole 
evening  before  him.  He  doubtless  thought  you 
had  gone  to  bed  when  he  turned  up  the  lights 
you  saw  in  here." 

"Then  he  lied  about  the  time,"  Jack  mused, 
"and  that  shows  guilt." 

"Now  for  the  other  reason,"  Ned  went  on. 
"I  said  I'd  give  you  two.  When  Saxby  came 
in  here  his  shoes  were  sticky  with  clay,  clay  he 
never  took  up  between  here  and  the  Grand  Cen- 
tral station  while  riding  in  an  automobile.  But 
of  that  later  on.  He  came  in  here  and  began 
looking  in  the  unusual  places  first  for  what 
he  wanted — I  don't  know  yet  what  that  was. 

"He  got  up  on  that  chair  to  look  on  top  of 
the  bookcase,  and  left  a  roll  of  clay  from  the 
instep  of  his  shoe  there.  You  see  how  hard  and 
dry  it  is  now.  Well,  that  never  dried  out  like 
that  in  an  hour.  Saxby  was  in  here  early  in 
the  evening,  and  was  probably  searching  the 
place  while  we  were  upstairs  planning  our  Co- 
lumbia river  trip,  and  while  Akbar  was  listen- 
ing behind  the  screen." 

"But  Saxby  says  he  saw  Akbar  in  here," 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  43 

Jack  urged.  "Perhaps  they  were  here  to- 
gether. " 

"In  that  case,  Saxby  wouldn't  have  men- 
tioned Akbar  at  all;  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
Akbar  would  have  tried  to  murder  Saxby  with 
a  poisoned  dart.  Now,  look  at  the  dart  which 
was  thrown  through  the  transom  opening. 
There  it  is  lying  under  the  window  casing.  I 
have  seen  instruments  of  assassination  like 
that  before.  The  natives  of  the  Far  East  are 
adepts  in  throwing  them.  Akbar  or  some  of 
his  East  Indian  chums  threw  that  one,  if  I  am 
not  much  mistaken." 

Ned  stepped  forward  and  picked  up  the 
winged  dart  from  where  Saxby  had  dropped 
it.  It  consisted  of  a  long,  slender,  polished 
stem  of  light  wood,  tipped  with  metal,  and  a 
straight  feather  cleft  into  the  opposite  end. 
There  was  a  dark  stain  on  the  keen  metal  point, 
and  the  wood  in  which  it  had  been  imbedded 
was  discolored,  showing  a  bright  green  at  the 
lips  of  the  wound  which  had  been  made  in  the 
casing. 

"So,"  Ned  continued,  "this  dart  was  aimed 
at  Saxby 's  life.  The  men  were  enemies  and 
would  not  have  been  here  together.  More  than 
that,  if  Akbar  was  here  at  all  tonight,  they 
were  hunting  for  the  same  thing — something 
in  this  room — at  different  hours.  Akbar  evi- 


44  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

dently  believed  that  Saxby  had  discovered  the 
thing  they  both  wanted,  for  he  mounted  to  the 
transom  opening  and  tried  to  murder  him  with 
this  East  Indian  weapon,  the  poisoned  dart.*' 

"This  gets  me,"  Jack  exclaimed.  "I'd  like 
to  know  what  Fate  it  is  that  sets  us  into  the 
midst  of  a  mystery  every  time  we  plan  for  a 
vacation  trip.  One  would  think,  to  hear  you 
talk  of  poisoned  darts,  and  all  that,  that  we 
were  in  some  of  the  Hindu  temples  Frank  was 
talking  about  last  night  in  the  Black  Bear  club 
room  up  stairs." 

"Now,"  Ned  said,  "do  you  know  where  your 
father  went  last  night  ? ' ' 

Jack  shook  his  head. 

"Did  you  know  that  he  was  going  any- 
where?" 

"No,"  was  the  anxious  reply.  Ned's  words 
and  manner  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  father 
might  be  in  danger  somewhere. 

"Think,"  suggested  Ned,  "think  if  you  hap- 
pened to  hear  him  mention  any  plans  he  had 
for  today,  for  it  is  after  midnight  now." 

"Why,  yes,"  Jack  said  hastily,  "I  remember 
now  that  he  was  to  go  to  his  offices  at  nine  this 
morning  to  meet  a  client.  I  can't  see  why  he 
left  the  city  last  night." 

"I  don't  think  he  did  leave  the  city  last  eve- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  46 

uing,"  Ned  remarked,  "at  least  not  Tolun- 
tarily." 

Jack  started  at  the  word  and  grabbed  Ned 
by  the  shoulder. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that  I"  he  demanded. 

"Now,  don't  get  excited,  boy/'  Ned  went  on. 
"We've  got  our  hands  full  if  we  use  all  our 
wits,  and  can't  afford  to  get  dippy  at  the  first 
show  of  trouble.  This  man  Saxby  wanted 
something  your  father  kept  in  this  room.  He 
wanted  it  tonight. 

"He  knew  that  your  father  would  be  apt  to 
work  here  until  a  late  hour,  and  so  got  him  out 
of  the  way.  Now,  now,"  Ned  hastened  to  say, 
as  Jack  dropped  into  a  chair,  "I  don't  mean 
that  your  father  has  been  murdered,  or  any- 
thing like  it.  The  chances  are  that  he  was 
driven  to  some  lonely  spot  in  his  machine  and 
left  there,  far  from  any  means  of  transporta- 
tion to  or  communication  with  the  city." 

"Then  we  ought  to  be  doing  something!" 
Jack  exclaimed,  bounding  to  his  feet.  "What 
has  been  done  here  cuts  no  ice  in  the  light  of 
this  tragic  possibility.  Good  old  Dad!  We'll 
find  him  if  we  have  to  put  thumbscrews  on 
Saxby!" 

"Of  course,"  Ned  replied,  hopefully,  "of 
course  we'll  find  him.  It  is  only  a  question  of 
time.  Now  about  Saxby.  From  his  manner  at 


46  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

the  time  we  shut  him  out  of  this  room,  a  few 
moments  ago,  I  judge  that  he  did  not  find  what 
he  wanted  in  here  and  was  anxious  to  continue 
the  hunt.  That  is  the  reason  why  I  've  had  him 
watched  during  the  time  we've  been  here." 

"  Who  was  there  to  watch  him?"  asked  Jack. 
' '  The  servants  are  all  scared  into  fits — some  of 
them  are  having  three  at  a  time." 

"Jimmie  came  with  me,"  Ned  replied.  "I 
left  him  in  the  vestibule.  Long  before  this  he 
is  making  friends  with  Saxby." 

"Wise  little  kid!"  Jack  exclaimed. 

"Now,"  Ned  said,  "we'll  open  the  door  and 
let  Saxby  in.  He  may  lie  himself  into  a  dan- 
gerous situation." 

"It  seems  to  me  that  he  has  already  done 
that,"  Jack  said,  "and  yet  he  never  tried  to 
conceal  his  presence  here!" 

Nestor  threw  the  door  open  and  stepped  into 
the  corridor.  Neither  Saxby  nor  Jimmie  was 
in  sight.  The  housekeeper  and  a  couple  of 
frightened  female  servants  stood  midway  of 
the  staircase,  their  eyes  on  a  level  with  the 
floor. 

"They  want  to  know  what  is  going  on," 
laughed  Jack,  "and  they  also  want  the  start  if 
it  comes  to  a  marathon!  Where  is  Saxby?" 
he  aded,  calling  down  to  the  housekeeper. 
"Tell  him  to  come  up  here." 


ON  TEE  COttTMBIA  RIVER.  47 

"He's  gone!"  the  housekeeper  called  back. 

' '  Gone  ? ' '  Jack  repeated.  ' '  Then  where 's  the 
lad  that  came  with  Nestor?" 

"He  went  away  with  him,"  was  the  reply. 

"Has  Akbar  showed  up  yet?"  asked  Ned. 

"No,"  replied  the  housekeeper,  slowly 
mounting  the  stairs,  "and  it  is  my  belief  that 
he  never  will.  I've  been  looking  through  the 
house,  and  most  of  the  gold  plate  is  gone.  He's 
run  off  with  everything  he  could  carry.  Why 
don't  the  police  come?" 

"How  do  you  know-  that  Saxby  didn't  steal 
the  plate?"  asked  Jack. 

"Because  he  was  here  when  the  loss  of  it  was 
discovered,"  was  the  reply,  "and  didn't  show 
guilt.  He  said  he  was  going  to  notify  the 
police,  and  the  boy  said  he  would  go  with  him." 

"Well,"  said  Ned,  rather  grimly,  "we've  lost 
the  man  the  thieves  plotted  against,  we're  lost 
the  plate,  and  we've  lost  the  thieves.  Good 
thing  the  house  is  heavy,  or  that  might  not  be 
here  now." 

The  housekeeper  took  this  grim  humor  seri- 
ously and  went  down  stairs  with  her  face  in 
her  apron,  declaring  that  her  master  had  prob- 
ably been  murdered  and  buried  under  the 
North  River.  Then,  ordering  the  servants  off 
to  bed,  she  retired  to  her  room. 

"I'd  like  to  ask  you  a  question,"  Jack  said, 


48  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOIt  BOAT 

as  the  two  boys  stood  at  the  head  of  the  stair- 
case, doubtful  as  to  the  next  move. 

"Go  ahead,"  Ned  replied.  "I  don't  seem  to 
be  very  wise  tonight,  but  I'll  do  the  best  I  can 
to  give  you  satisfactory  answers,  though  I'll 
admit  that  I'm  not  exactly  clear  in  my  mind  as 
to  the  motive  for  this  mix-up." 

"You  recall  the  discussion  regarding  the 
motor-boat  trip  on  the  Columbia  river!"  asked 
Jack. 

"Certainly." 

"And  you  recall  the  fact  that  Akbar  was 
caught  listening  behind  a  screen! " 

"You  said  it  was  Akbar." 

"Well,  it  was.  Now,  do  you  know  the  fel- 
low really  believes  all  that  dope  about  the 
treasure  hidden  in  ruined  temples?" 

* ' I  haven't  a  doubt  of  it.  Queer  chaps,  those 
East  Indians." 

"I  know  he  swallowed  every  word  of  it," 
Jack  went  on.  "There's  always  been  some- 
thing uncanny  about  Akbar.  I've  heard  him 
claim  kinship  with  the  Akbar  said  to  have 
sailed  to  this  country  with  the  gold.  I  half  be- 
lieve he  came  over  with  father  in  order  that 
he  might  be  nearer  to  the  treasure — the  treas- 
ure which  exists  only  in  the  imagination  of 
newspaper  space  writers  and  fellows  like 
Frank!" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  BIVEE.  49 

The  last  was  half  a  question  asked  of  Ned. 

"I  see  what  you  are  getting  at,"  Ned  said. 
"You  think  the  knowledge  that  we  were  think- 
ing of  looking  up  this  alleged  treasure  during 
our  holiday  quickened  his  movements,  and  set 
him  hot  foot  into  a  quest  which  he  might  have 
taken  more  time  to  prepare  for  if  he  had  not 
overheard  our  talk?" 

"Yes;  that  is  just  it." 

"Now,"  Ned  said,  "that  may  account  for 
the  actions  of  Akbar  tonight,  but  what  about 
Saxby?" 

"I'm  connecting  the  two  in  the  search  of  this 
room,"  Jack  replied. 

"Both  looking  for  the  same  thing,  eh?" 

"It  seems  that  way  to  me." 

"Well,  what  were  they  searching  for?"  ' 

"For  an  old,  worm-eaten  book,  I  suspect," 
Jack  replied,  with  some  hesitation.  "You  see, 
Ned,"  he  went  on,  "I  wasn't  quite  frank  about 
that  hidden  temple  matter  when  it  was  under 
discussion  up  in  the  club  room." 

"You  had  heard  the  story  before,  then?" 

"Oh,  yes,  a  great  many  times — from  father, 
and  Saxby,  and  Akbar,  and,  then,  I  had  read  it 
in  the  book  I  have  just  mentioned — the  book 
I  think  they  were  looking  for." 

"Where  did  your  father  get  the  book  ?" 


50  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Picked  it  up  in  London.  He  really  thinks 
there  may  be  something  to  the  story." 

"So  Akbar  and  Saxby  knew  about  the  book 
being  here?  Well,  they  raced  each  other  to 
get  it,  I  guess.  Do  they  both  believe  in  the 
yarn?  Have  you  talked  with  them  about  it 
lately? 

"You  see,"  Ned  went  on,  "there  must  have 
been  some  sort  of  arrangement  for  them  to 
leave  the  city  tonight — not  together,  of  course 
— for  Saxby  could  not  expect  to  come  back  here 
after  taking  your  father  on  a  wild-goose  chase, 
as  I  believe  he  did." 

"No,  they  never  agreed  on  anything,"  Jack 
said.  "Each  one  wanted  the  book.  I  am  satis- 
fied of  that.  Akbar  must  have  thought  Saxby 
had  discovered  it,  for  he  tried  to  murder  him. 
At  least,  I  don't  think  the  poisoned  dart  was 
thrown  at  me." 

"Yes,"  Ned  mused,  "I  take  it  that  Saxby 
stole  a  march  on  Akbar.  But  what  set  the 
thing  to  buzzing  so  just  now?" 

"I  believe  our  Columbia  river  trip  did  it," 
Jack  answered.  "You  see,  I've  been  talking 
about  it  quite  a  lot,  and  talking  with  the  two 
about  the  temple,  too,  in  a  careless  way,  and 
I  presume  they  both  think  we're  going  out 
solely  after  the  treasure.  They  have  asked 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  51 

me  lots  of  questions,  and  seemed  friendly  to 
each  other  up  to  tonight." 

"Then  Saxby  played  traitor,"  Ned  decided, 
"and  Akbar  watched  and  saw  what  he  was 
doing.  Saxby  must  have  known  that  Akbar 
was  listening  for  something  new  concerning 
the  trip,  and  Akbar  must  have  suspected  what 
Saxby  was  at,  but  the  latter  only  knew  that 
something  really  new  about  the  trip  was  doing, 
for  he  listened  in  the  club  room  and  learned 
that  the  trip  had  finally  been  decided  on. 

"And  he  might  have  been  waiting  outside 
the  den  door,  ready  to  kill  Saxby  when  he  came 
out  with  the  book,"  suggested  Ned,  after  a 
short  pause. 

"He  might  have  been,"  Jack  went  on,  "up 
to  the  time  I  saw  him  on  the  porch.  It  was 
after  that  that  he  hurled  the  poisoned  dart. 
Cheerful  sort  of  a  chap,  that  Akbar,"  the  boy 
added.  * '  Probably  he 's  after  Saxby  right  now, 
thinking  he  found  the  book." 

"Well,  it  seems  that  we  have  figured  the 
thing  out  about  right,"  Ned  observed.  "The 
men  are  now  deadly  enemies,  and  will  chase 
each  other  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Now,  the 
next  question  is  this :  Where  did  Saxby  leave 
your  father'?" 

"It  seems  to  me  that  we've  been  awfully 
slow  in  coming  to  poor  Dad,"  Jack  replied, 


52  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"and  yet,  we  couldn't  very  well  act  until  we 
knew  where  we  stood." 

While  the  boys  talked  over  the  situation  the 
'phone  in  the  lower  corridor  set  up  a  great 
whirring  and  Jack  hastened  down.  He  was 
back  in  a  few  moments  with  a  smiling  face. 

"Dad's  all  right !"  he  shouted.  " Saxby  left 
'  him  on  a  country  road  miles  out  in  Westchester 
county,  and  he's  just  got  to  a  'phone.  Say, 
but  he's  hot  under  the  collar.  Wants  me  to  be 
sure  and  have  Saxby  pinched.  Huh !  I  guess 
we'll  find  him  first  1" 

"I  can  imagine  your  very  dignified  father 
standing  in  a  country  road  watching  his  auto- 
mobile going  off  without  him!"  laughed  Ned. 

"If  he'd  'a'  had  a  gun,"  Jack  said,  "he'd 
'a'  shot  a  tire  off.  He  says  he'll  be  home  as 
soon  as  he  can  get  here.  Found  a  machine  up 
there  somewhere." 

"Glad  he's  safe!"  Ned  observed.  "Now, 
what  about  Jimmie?" 

"Oh,  yes;  about  Jimmie!  He  followed 
Saxby!" 

"Speak  of  angels  and  you  hear  the  rustle  of 
their  wings ! ' '  laughed  Ned.  * '  The  bell  Is  ring- 
ing. That  may  be  Jimmie  now." 

And  Jimmie  it  was,  panting  as  if  from  a 
long  run,  and  very  much  mussed  as  to  hair 
and  garments.  He  threw  himself  into  a  chair 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVER.  53 

near  the  door  of  the  den  and  looked  about  with 
shining  eyes.  The  two  boys  waited  for  him 
to  speak. 

"Say,"  he  burst  forth,  presently,  "what 
kind  of  a  game  is  this?" 

"Saxby  didn't  call  the  police,  as  he  said  he 
would,  eh?"  asked  Ned. 

"Call  the  police!"  cried  Jimmie.  "Huh! 
He  went  to  a  dizzy  old  joint  down  on  Four- 
teenth street  and  hauled  me  in  with  him.  Ill 
bet  he's  got  an  eye  on  him,  too!  I  give  him 
me  educated  left.  He's  off:  on  the  choo-choos 
before  this." 

"How  did  you  get  away  from  him?"  asked 
Jack. 

"He  left  me  with  a  gink  that  wasn't  next 
to  me  skill  as  a  wrestler,  an'  I  tipped  him  over 
and  run.  He  mussed  me  up  some,  though," 
he  added,  with  a  grin  at  his  torn  garments. 

"Why  do  you  say  Saxby  has  taken  a  train  1" 
demanded  Ned. 

"Because  I  heard  him  talking  about  time- 
tables and  trains  for  Chicago.  He  thought  I 
wouldn't  get  away  for  a  week,  and  so  talked 
freely.  This  is  a  nice  game,  I  don't  think!" 

The  three  boys  discussed  plans  most  of  the 
remainder  of  the  night,  after  notifying  the 
police  to  watch  the  railroad  stations  for  Akbar 
and  the  pawnshops  for  the  stolen  plate.  Early 


54  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

in  the  morning  Mr.  Bosworth  returned,  very 
much  in  need  of  sleep  and  very  ragged  as  to 
temper. 

"One  of  the  two  secured  the  book,"  he  said, 
after  listening  to  the  story  of  the  night  and 
looking  through  the  den.  "No  one  here  knows 
which  one  discovered  it,  but  I  can  imagine  that 
Saxby  got  it.  Anyway,  when  you  boys  get  up 
on  the  Columbia  you'll  have  plenty  of  excite- 
ment watching  two  cranks  hunting  for  a  ruined 
temple  which  probably  doesn't  exist." 

Jack's  eyes  were  shining,  but  he  made  no 
reply. 

"That  will  heighten  the  interest,"  laughed 
Ned.  "But,  Mr.  Bosworth,  it  would  be  a  joke 
if  there  should  be  a  ruined  temple  in  some  of 
the  canyons  up  there,  now  wouldn't  itf" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  55 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  BLACK  BEAK  AND  THE  WOLF. 

Every  evening  for  a  week  the  five  boys  who 
had  decided  to  visit  the  Columbia  river  coun- 
try met  at  the  club  room  of  the  Black  Bear 
Patrol  and  discussed  the  details  of  the  trip  in 
prospect.  Naturally,  they  for  a  few  nights 
talked  of  the  happenings  in  the  Bosworth 
house  on  the  occasions  of  the  disappearance  of 
the  two  servants,  but,  as  neither  Saxby  nor 
Akbar  was  taken  by  the  police,  this  phase  of 
the  matter  soon  passed  out  of  their  talk,  though 
not  out  of  their  thoughts. 

Now  and  then,  of  course,  Frank  Shaw  laugh- 
ingly referred  to  the  mysterious  ruins  said  to 
exist  somewhere  on  the  Columbia,  and  Jimmie 
McGraw  often  threatened  the  boys  with  the 
displeasure  of  the  ghosts  attached  to  the  ruins, 
but  the  youngsters  were  too  busy  with  the  de- 
tails of  the  vacation  to  give  serious  attention 
to  such  talk,  and  the  work  of  preparation  went 
swimmingly  on. 

After  a  good  deal  of  investigation  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  motor  boat  which  was  to  serve 
as  their  home  for  a  number  of  weeks  should 
be  built  at  the  automobile  factory  of  Harry 


56  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Stevens'  father  and  shipped  to  some  up-river 
town  by  express. 

"If  we  wanted  a  crude  houseboat,"  Harrj 
explained  to  his  chums,  "we  could  build  one  of 
lumber  at  any  old  river  town,  but  we've  got 
to  have  a  boat  that  we  can  shoot  up  rapids,  one 
that  will  ride  like  a  duck  on  rough  water.  It 
must  be  light,  and  so  constructed  that  it  can 
be  taken  to  pieces  when  we  want  to  carry  it 
around  falls  and  rapids." 

"Huh!"  Jimmie  observed.  "Such  a  boat 
would  cost  all  the  money  there  is  in  the  world. 
Guess  you'd  better  wake  up!" 

"It  won't  cost  us  a  cent,"  Harry  explained. 
"Father  is  going  to  give  it  to  me,  and  I'll  let 
you  ride  in  it  if  you'll  stop  talking  of  Hindu 
temples  in  the  state  of  Washington." 

"Anyway,"  Jimmie  contended,  "it  will  take 
a  barrel  of  money  to  get  it  out  there." 

"Nix!"  laughed  Jack.  "Nix  express 
charges!  I'd  like  to  know  what  Dad  is  mixed 
up  with  these  express  companies  for  if  we?ve 
got  to  put  up  our  good  money  to  get  the  boats 
out  to  the  Columbia  river  country." 

"When  will  the  boats  be  ready!"  asked 
Jimmie,  capering  about  the  room. 

It  seemed  almost  too  good  to  be  true!  A 
whole  summer  on  the  Columbia  river! 

"Dad  says  they'll  be  ready  in  two  weeks," 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  57 

Harry  replied,  "and  declares  they'll  be  as 
strong  as  steel  and  as  light  as  a  feather.  And 
now,"  he  added,  " where  are  they  to  be 
shipped?" 

"Why,  to  Portland,  of  course;"  Jimmie 
stopped  dancing  a  moment  as  he  answered  the 
question.  * '  At  Portland  we  '11  get  another  view 
of  the  Pacific  ocean.  Pretty  poor,  eh?" 

Ned  shook  his  head.  The  boats  could  be  bet- 
ter floated  down  stream  than  speeded  against 
swift  currents,  and  he  explained  that  they 
ought  to  ship  to  some  point  as  far  north  as 
convenient,  and  then  follow  their  own  inclina- 
tions as  to  what  to  do. 

"We're  going  for  the  fun  of  it,"  he  said, 
"and  we  can  go  up  stream  or  down,  or  loaf 
about  in  quiet  stretches  for  a  month  if  we  want 
to.  Of  course  there  are  falls  and  rapids  in 
plenty,  but  we  can  take  the  boats  to  pieces  and 
tote  them  around.  And  fish !  You  wait  for  the 
mountain  trout!" 

"Quit!"  roared  Jimmie.  "You  make  me 
hungry!  Say,"  he  added,  with  a  wink  at  Jack, 
"do  the  folks  eat  candles  away  up  north  where 
we  are  going  f" 

"You  can  drink  kerosene  if  you  want  to," 
laughed  Ned,  "but  it  is  warmer  up  there  in 
the  winter  than  it  is  here.  Of  course,"  he  con- 
tinued, with  a  grin  in  Frank's  direction,  "if 


58  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

you  get  cold  you  might  build  a  fire  in  one  of 
the  ruined  temples." 

"You  just  wait!"  said  Prank. 

"Well,"  Ned  added,  "we  won't  go  so  far 
north  that  we'll  freeze.  You  boys  don't  want 
to  float  exclusively  through  orchards  and  grain 
fields,  do  you?" 

"Not  any!"  Jimmie  responded.  "It  is  the 
wild  places  for  mine." 

"Well,"  Ned  said,  "by  going  far  north,  say, 
to  Nelson,  B.  C.,  we  can  drift  down  the  Koo- 
tenay  river  to  the  Columbia,  or,  if  we  feel  like 
it,  we  can  run  northeast  into  Kootenay  lake, 
a  fine  body  of  water.  There  are  steamers 
there." 

"Us  for  the  Columbia!"  Jack  grinned. 
"Haven't  we  got  to  give  Frank  a  chance  to  dig 
gold  out  of  heathen  temples?  I  guess  yes!" 

"Well,"  Ned  went  on,  "after  we  get  down 
to  the  Columbia  we  can  run  up  into  Arrow 
lakes  if  we  want  to.  Plenty  of  water  up 
there!" 

"I've  been  lookin'  it  up,"  Jimmie  confessed, 
"an'  there's  Indian  reservations,  an'  trackless 
forests,  an'  mines,  an'  mountains,  an'  no  rail- 
road for  miles  an'  miles  along  the  river.  We'll 
ride  the  boats  days  an'  sleep  on  the  banks 
nights." 

"And  a  great,  big,  fat,  ugly  bear  will  come 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  59 

along  and  eat  off  little  Jimmie's  ear,"  grinned 
Frank. 

Jimie  laid  a  map  of  Washington  and  British 
Columbia  down  on  the  table. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  "I  want  Frank  to 
show  me  right  now  where  them  temples  is.  I 
don't  want  to  overlook  anything.  If  Saxby 
an'  Akbar  go  up  there  I  want  to  help  pinch 
'em.  There's  a  reward  out  for  Akbar." 

"But  what  about  the  pieces  of  eight?"  asked 
Jack,  with  a  slight  sneer. 

"I  don't  believe  in  them  temples,"  Jimmie 
said,  "nor  yet  in  any  pieces  of  eight,  but  I 
think  Saxby  an'  Akbar  do,  so  I'd  like  to  know 
where  these  temples  are  believed  to  be.  They'll 
go  there,  all  right." 

"I  have  heard  talk  about  a  map  in  the  old 
book  which  disappeared  that  night,"  Jack 
said,  "and  I've  heard  father  talking  of  the 
location  of  the  fabled  temple.  He  said  it  was 
in  a  mountain  range  north  of  the  river — in  a 
rocky  canyon  now  growing  trees." 

"It's  a  pipe  dream,"  said  Jimmie,  "but  they 
believe  in  it.  That's  enough  for  us  to  get  a 
line  on  them.  I'll  punch  Saxby 's  nose  for 
tryin'  to  lock  me  up !" 

"There's  something  to  the  temple  yarn," 
Frank  Shaw  insisted.  "The  story  never  origi- 
nated in  the  brain  of  a  crank.  It  doesn't  seem 


60  BOT  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

to  me  that  any  vessel  of  the  early  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century  could  ever  get  far  up  the 
Columbia,  much  less  lug  along  truck  enough 
for  a  temple,  still,  as  you  all  know,  the  stolen 
book  was  printed  in  England  years  and  years 
ago,  and  the  material  for  it  was  collected  in 
India.  Anyway,  there's  belief  in  India  that 
the  gold  was  taken  away  by  one  of  the  old 
Akbar  persons  and  buried  somewhere  on  this 
continent." 

"The  legend  goes  back  a  good  many  years," 
Ned  said,  "for  I've  been  looking  it  up  a  little 
since  the  larceny  of  the  book.  The  story  that 
the  gold  was  taken  away  seems  to  be  all  right, 
but,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  no  one  has  ever  seen 
a  trace  of  the  temple  where  Akbar  is  supposed 
to  have  placed  it." 

"You  fellows  are  all  dippy  about  that  tem- 
ple!" Jack  cut  in  shortly.  "Cut  it  out,  and 
let  us  get  down  to  brass  tacks.  What  kind  of  a 
boat  is  this  going  to  be — a  motor  boat  that  can 
be  taken  to  pieces  and  put  together  again  when- 
ever we  come  to  a  waterfall  or  a  channel 
crammed  with  rocks?" 

"It  will  be  a  peach,"  Harry  declared. 
"You've  seen  these  chair-seats,  made  up  of 
three  or  four  sheets  of  wood?  Thin  pieces,  I 
mean,  laid  one  on  top  of  another,  with  the 
grain  crossed  in  each  layer?  Well,  that's  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  61 

way  our  boat  is  to  be  built,  only  the  material 
will  be  more  than  an  inch  thick,  instead  of  a 
quarter  of  an  inch,  like  a  chair  bottom. " 

"The  glue  will  soak  up,"  interposed  the 
practical  Jimmie. 

"We've  got  glue  in  our  shop  that  water 
won't  touch,"  asserted  Harry  scornfully. 
"Well,  the  boat  will  be  plenty  big  for  five — 
twenty  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide — and  there 
will  be  places  to  swing  bunks  and  places  to 
store  provisions,  and  all  that." 

"And  I  suppose  you'll  carry  the  engine 
around  the  rapids  in  your  fingers!"  laughed 
Jack,  who  was  rather  in  favor  of  a  roomy 
houseboat. 

"Oh,  I  can't  tell  you  all  about  it  right  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,"  Harry  laughed,  "but 
you'll  find  the  motor  boat  all  o.  k.  The  whole 
interior  can  be  enclosed  in  panels,  if  we  want 
to  shut  ourselves  in.  It's  going  to  be  a  bird, 
all  right,  with  about  all  the  conveniences  of  a  • 
private  Pullman." 

"I'm  not  going  to  stay  on  board  all  the 
time,"  Jimmie  observed.  "I'm  going  to  take 
a  shelter  tent  along  and  sleep  on  the  shore." 

"I'm  going  to  live  on  a  fish  diet,"  said  Jack. 
"I  don't  think  I  ever  in  all  my  life  had  fish 
enough  at  one  meal." 


62  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

1  'Then  why  don't  you  go  an'  buy  a  whale  and 
eat  him  up?"  asked  Jimmie. 

"Oh,  the  reason  I've  never  had  enough  at 
one  meal/'  replied  Jack,  "is  because  I  don't 
hold  enough." 

And  so  the  boys  planned,  and  dreamed 
dreams,  and  joked,  until  the  motor  boat  was 
ready.  It  was  indeed  a  "bird,"  as  Harry 
expressed  it.  It  was  so  constructed  that  it 
could  be  taken  apart  with  very  little  trouble 
and  no  risk  whatever.  It  was  very  strong,  too, 
and  handsomely  finished. 

With  the  motor  boat  came  what  the  boys 
called  a  "tender,"  an  absolutely  water-tight 
boat  of  unique  construction  in  which  gasoline 
and  provisions  were  to  be  towed.  When 
entirely  closed,  the  boat  looked  as  much  like  a 
long,  sharp-nosed  projectile  as  anything  else. 
With  the  panels  all  closed,  the  "tender"  might 
be  set  adrift  in  the  wildest  current  with  no 
danger  of  getting  wet  on  the  inside. 

"It's  a  toy  submarine!"  Jack  exclaimed,  on 
first  seeing  it.  "I  believe  I  could  ride  Niagara 
in  her.  What's  she  made  of?" 

"Layers  of  steel  and  wood,"  replied  Harry. 
"She  was  built  to  shoot  rapids.  Now,  what 
shall  we  call  her?" 

"The  tender  or  the  motor  boat?"  asked 
Jimmie. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  63 

"We've  got  a  name  for  the  motor  boat/'  Ned 
said.  "We're  going  to  call  her  the  Black  Bear. 
Harry  settled  that  when  he  gave  her  to  the 
Black  Bear  Patrol." 

"Why  not  call  her  the  Boy  Scout?"  asked 
Jimmie.  "She'll  go  scoutin'  around  a  good 
deal  before  she  gets  rid  of  this  bunch." 

"Ship's  feminine,"  laughed  Harry.  "You 
can't  call  a  girl  a  Boy  Scout,  can  you?  I  don't 
know  why  ships  are  feminine,  but  they  are, 
just  the  same." 

"It's  because  the  riggin'  costs  so  much," 
Jimmie  ventured. 

"That  alleged  joke  is  4,000  years  old,"  Jack 
put  in.  "Now,  what  shall  the  tender  be 
called?"  he  added. 

"Greenback/'  suggested  the  irrepressible 
Jimmie. 

"Why?"  asked  Jack. 

"  'Cause  Greenback  would  be  legal  tender," 
replied  the  boy,  dodging  away  from  a  blow 
aimed  by  Jack. 

"I've  got  a  name  to  suggest,"  Harry  said, 
in  a  moment.  "We've  got  the  boat  named  for 
one  Boy  Scout  Patrol,  now  suppose  we  name 
the  tender  for  the  other.  It  shall  be  the  Wolf. 
There  are  two  Patrols  mixed  up  in  this  crowd, 
remember,  the  Black  Bear  and  the  Wolf.  That 
will  about  even  things  up." 


64  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOA* 

And  so  the  boats  were  named  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all,  and,  after  much  discussion,  shipped 
by  express  to  Nelson,  British  Columbia.  The 
following  day  the  five  boys  took  train  for  the 
same  point,  arriving  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
fifth  day,  after  a  very  pleasant  trip.  The  boats 
were  not  expected  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  so 
the  boys  went  to  the  Sherbrooke  Hotel  and  reg- 
istered. They  were  given  comfortable  rooms 
and  found  plenty  of  amusement,  later  on,  look- 
ing over  the  city. 

"She's  a  busy  little  beauty,"  Frank  said,  sit- 
ting before  his  window  the  next  morning  and 
looking  out  on  the  town,  speaking  to  Jimmie. 
"There  is  the  flavor  of  the  West  over  every- 
thing." 

"It  looks  pretty  good  to  me,"  said  the  boy. 

"When  Nelson  is  as  old  as  New  York  is 
now, ' '  Frank  went  on, '  '  she  '11  be  great.  Think 
of  the  possibilities !  Here  the  city  lies,  at  the 
extremity  of  the  west  arm  of  Kootenay  lake, 
a  body  of  water  navigable  and  picturesque, 
with  snow-capped  peaks  in  sight.  That  is,  they 
are  snow-capped  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year. 

"I've  been  out  looking  over  the  city,  and  it 
looks  good  to  me.  Its  lower  portion  lies  in  the 
broad  valley-mouth  of  the  Cottonwood,  and  its 
upper  portion  almost  touches  the  shadows  of 
Morning  and  Evening  mountains.  Off  over 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  65 

^^^^ 

there,"  pointing,  "is  Granite  mountain,  stand- 
ing like  a  guard.  Why,  this  town  is  the  center 
of  the  greatest  mining  region  in  Canada. 

"Take  it  from  me,  in  a  few  years  this  dis- 
trict will  have  an  immense  population,  for  peo- 
ple in  search  of  homes  and  investments  are 
sure  are  to  take  advantage  of  the  rich  country 
,  about  here — the  Kootenay  country,  they  call  it. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  most  fruitful  in  the  world. 
And  wild  scenery  within  reach !  Well ! ' ' 

" Somehow,"  Jack  said,  stepping  into  the 
room,  "I  don't  care  for  the  wild  places  only 
as  I  care  for  the  theatre — for  a  change.  If 
you  leave  it  to  me,  mountains  and  plains,  and 
rivers  and  seas,  are  crude,  unfinished,  out  of 
drawing,  as  an  artist  would  express  it.  It  is 
only  the  work  of  man  that  is  artistic  and 
complete." 

"You  talk  that  way  out  here,"  Jimmie 
observed,  "and  you'll  get  shot  up.  I  know 
what  these  persons  think  of  their  country." 

"In  a  few  million  years,"  Jack  insisted, 
with  a  chuckle,  "Nature  may  be  able  to  put 
up  something  equal  in  artistic  effect  and  con- 
venience to  the  Singer  building,  but  I  don't 
believe  it.  Why,  we're  catching  Nature  right 
in  the  midst  of  her  job  out  here, with  her  sleeves 
rolled  up,"  he  went  on.  "The  rivers  are  tum- 
bling the  earth  into  the  sea,  the  little  streams 


66  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

are  washing  the  mountains  down  and  spreading 
them  over  the  valleys.  Nothing  is  stable,  per- 
manent. It  all  looks  to  me  like  the  mess  about  a 
big  sky-scraper  that  is  going  up  on  the  Great 
.White  Way.  The  big  town  for  me,  except  for 
a  vacation!" 

"You're  a  crank  on  New  York,"  Frank 
exclaimed.  "You  think  that  nothing  counts  if 
it  is  half  an  hour's  ride  from  Broadway.  Come 
on,  suppose  we  go  down  to  the  river." 

"The  Columbia?"  asked  Jimmie.  "Hurry 
up !  I  want  to  see  it. ' ' 

"The  Columbia  river  is  still  some  distance 
away, ' '  Frank  replied.  '  *  That  is  the  Kootenay 
river  down  there.  I  move  that  we  go  and  look 
at  it,  so  Jack  can  point  out  what's  the  matter 
with  it,  and  explain  how  it  ought  to  be  changed 
over  and  made  to  resemble  the  North  river — 
which  isn't  a  river  at  all,  by  the  way,  but  an 
arm  of  the  Atlantic  ocean." 

"Why,"  grinned  Jack,  "the  North  river  is 
the  Harlem  river.  Anybody  ought  to  know 
that.  It  cuts  across  from  the  Hudson  and 
makes  an  island  of  little  old  New  York." 

* '  Island  —  nothing ! ' '  Jimmie  exclaimed. 
"The  Harlem  river  is  about  as  big  as  a  sewer, 
and  New  York  isn't  on  an  island,  and  Coney 
island  isn't  an  island,  and — and  but  it's  a 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  6? 

mighty  good  old  town,  for  all  that,"  he  added, 
his  eyes  shining. 

" Fight  it  out  later!"  Frank  said,  knowing 
that  both  boys  were  talking  principally  for 
effect.  "Just  now,  suppose  we  go  down  to  the 
river  and  look  at  the  boats." 

The  three  boys  descended  to  the  street  and 
walked  down  to  the  launch-crowded  water 
front.  The  day  was  young,  the  sun  was  shin- 
ing brightly,  and  the  early  June  air  was  sweet 
and  refreshing.  Leaving  the  principal  street, 
after  a  time,  they  walked  parallel  with  the 
water  for  a  short  distance  until  they  came  to 
a  narrow  street  which  seemed  to  lead  down  to 
a  little  private  wharf. 

"Come  on,"  Jimmie  cried,  bounding  on 
ahead.  "I'm  goin'  to  see  what  the  water  of 
the  Kootenay  feels  like!" 

"You'll  find  it  good  and  cold,"  Frank  said. 

"You'll  get  pinched  if  you  try  to  go  in  swim- 
ming there,"  Jack  warned.  "You  needn't 
think  there  are  more  no  cops  because  you're 
out  of  New  York.  They  have  real  coppy  cops 
out  here." 

"Anyvray,"  Jimmie  insisted,  "I'm  going  to 
see  if  there  is  a  place  where  I  can  get  in  with- 
out makin'  an  exhibition  of  meself.  Watch 
me  investigate  that  warehouse  on  the  left!" 

The  lad  swung  down  the  street  and  disap- 


68  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

peared  through  the  doorway  of  what  appeared 
to  be  a  large  warehouse  which  fronted  the 
water.  Jack  and  Frank  passed  on  to  the  edge 
of  the  wharf  and  looked  up  and  down  the  river. 
In  a  moment,  while  they  stood  there,  a  cry  of 
alarm  reached  their  ears,  and  the  next  moment 
Jimmie,  clothed  only  in  trousers  and  shirt,  and 
carrying  his  coat,  shoes  and  cap  in  his  arms 
dashed  out  of  an  open  window  of  the  ware- 
house and  tumbled  over  on  the  ground. 

"Gee!"  he  cried,  half  laughing,  as  Jack  and 
Frank  came  up  to  him, "  chase  yourself  in  there 
an'  see  what  you'll  get  against  I" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  69 


CHAPTER  V. 

AKBAE  AND  SAXBY  APPHAE. 

"You  chase  yourself  out  of  sight  until  you 
get  dressed!"  Frank  exclaimed,  while  Jack 
stood  back  and  roared  at  the  ludicrous  figure 
the  lad  cut  with  his  bare  feet  and  half -clothed 
figure.  The  garments  he  carried  in  his  arms 
were  dropping  out  of  his  grasp  and  littering 
the  street,  while  one  tan  sock  waved  in  the  wind 
from  the  sill  of  the  window  from  which  he  had 
leaped. 

"Gee,"  Jimmie  grunted.  "Take  a  look  in 
there,  you  fellers!  You'll  miss  something  if 
you  don't." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Frank. 

"Probably  one  of  the  ghosts  from  the  mined 
temple  what  ain't,"  laughed  Jack,  with 
sarcasm. 

"Go  on  in!"  urged  Jimmie,  the  frightened 
look  passing  out  of  his  face.  "Go  on  in  an' 
see  the  big  show!" 

Frank  hastened  to  the  window  from  which 
the  boy  had  leaped  and  looked  inside.  Then 
he  sprang  on  the  sill  and  stepped  into  the 
interior.  As  he  did  so,  Jimmie  gave  a  shrill 


70  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

scream  and  rolled  on  the  ground,  and  Frank 
leaped  back. 

"You  little  imp!"  Frank  exclaimed,  half 
angrily.  "What  did  you  do  that  for?  I 
thought  some  wild  animal  had  you." 

"Had  you,  you  mean!"  Jimmie  grinned. 
"What  did  you  see  in  there?" 

"Nothing." 

"Go  on  an7  look  again." 

Frank  was  about  to  comply  when  a  splash 
in  the  river  at  the  distant  end  of  the  ware- 
house attracted  the  attention  of  all  three  boys. 

'  *  He 's  gettin '  away ! ' '  roared  Jimmie.  *  '  Go 
an 'stop  him." 

The  boys  dashed  down  to  the  wharf  end, 
Frank  leading,  just  in  time  to  see  a  small  row- 
boat  speeding  away.  The  figure  in  the  boat 
was  pulling  for  dear  life,  and  the  boat  was  soon 
out  of  sight  behind  a  cluster  of  vessels  lower 
down. 

"Ever  see  that  feller  before?"  asked  Jim- 
mie. 

Then  Jack  recalled  the  short,  bull  neck,  the 
small,  sharp,  black  eyes,  seen  for  an  instant 
when  the  rower  turned,  and  clapped  Jimmie 
on  the  back. 

"Saxby!"  he  cried. 

"The   same,"  Jimmie   answered,   nudging 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEE.  71 

Jack.  "He's  goin'  up  to  the  mountains  after 
that  gold!" 

"What  was  he  doing  in  that  warehouse?" 
asked  Frank. 

"Looked  to  me  like  he  was  tracin'  an  old 
map,"  Jimmie  replied.  "The  boat  he  rowed 
off  in  was  in  there  on  the  floor,  by  his  side." 

"Did  he  see  you?"  asked  Jack. 

"See  me?  You  bet  he  did.  He  came  after 
me  with  a  knife  in  his  hand,  c-r-e-epin'  along 
like  the  villain  does  in  the  play.  Guess  he 
thought  I  didn't  see  him.  Well,  I  didn't  until 
I  was  most  ready  to  plunge  from  a  window  into 
the  river." 

"What  did  he  say?"  asked  Jack,  with  a 
wink  at  Frank. 

"Say!  He  might  have  recited  l Curfew 
ShaU  Not  Ring  To-night,'  for  all  I  know."  the 
boy  answered.  "I  was  busy,  just  then,  gettin' 
my  duds  together  an'  gettin'  out.  Say,  well 
hear  from  that  chap  when  we  get  in  the 
woods." 

The  boys  retraced  their  steps  to  the  open 
doorway  of  the  warehouse  and  went  in. 
Numerous  empty  tin  cans  and  paper  bags  were 
scattered  about  on  the  floor  behind  a  row  of 
barrels  in  one  of  the  corners  toward  the  river, 
and  a  great  heap  of  excelsior,  evidently  stolen 


72  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

from   the   packing   room,   showed   signs   of 
having  been  used  as  a  bed. 

"He's  been  doin'  light  housekeepin'  here,  all 
right,"  Jimmie  concluded.  "Now,  I  wonder 
why  he  did  that!" 

"Probably  broke,"  Jack  suggested. 

"Can't  you  think  of  a  better  reason  than 
that?"  asked  Frank. 

"Sure  I  can,"  Jack  replied,  after  a 
moment's  thought.  "He  was  hiding  in  here 
from  someone.  He  even  hauled  his  rowboat 
in  here." 

"Who's  he  hidin'  from?"  demanded  Jim- 
mie. "I  guess  he's  been  doin'  somethin'  to  put 
him  in  bad  with  the  cops." 

"He's  hiding  from  Akbar !"  Jack  exclaimed. 
' l  Why,  that 's  easy !    And  that  means  that  both 
the  rascals  are  in  Nelson!    They  sure  believe 
in  that  bum  story  of  the  ruined  temple  and  the 
subterranean  passage  choked  with  gold  1" 

"Who'd  thunk  it?"  grinned  Jimmie.  "Say, 
do  you  suppose  they'll  trail  us  into  the  Colum- 
bia river  country?"  he  added,  with  a  rather 
startled  expression. 

"They  won't  trail  us,"  Jack  suggested. 
"They'll  try  to  beat  us  to  it.  I  wonder  which 
one  will  get  the  jolt  first?" 

"Get  what  jolt?"  asked  Frank. 

"The  jolt  of  the  discovery  that  there  ain't 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  73 

no  temple  there,  never  was  a  temple  there !   I 
reckon  that  will  hold  'em  for  a  while!" 
" Don't  be  too  certain  there's  nothing  there," 
Frank  said.    "All  this  talk  means  something. 
I  half  expect  to  find  ruins  of  some  kind." 

"I  know  one  ruin  you'll  find  if  Saxby  gets 
sight  of  Akbar  first ! ' '  Jack  laughed.  '  *  You  '11 
find  the  ruins  of  a  human  figure!" 

"I  hardly  think  it  worth  our  while,  just  now, 
to  try  to  follow  Saxby,"  Frank  said,  in  a 
moment.  "He's  lost  in  some  out-of-the-way 
hole  before  this,  and,  besides,  we've  nothing 
special  to  say  to  him,  anyway.  Perhaps  we'd 
better  go  and  tell  Ned  what  we  saw  when  we 
had  no  guns  with  us." 

"Gee!"  exclaimed  Jimmie,  glancing  down  at 
his  bare  feet,  "I  reckon  I'd  better  go  and  get  me 
duds  on!  I'll  sure  get  t'run  in  if  I  go  about 
in  this  way." 

The  boy  was  not  long  in  getting  into  his 
clothes,  and  then  all  three  hastened  back  to  the 
hotel  to  confer  with  Ned.  They  found  him 
engaged  in  serious  conversation  with  Harry 
Stevens,  who  had  just  returned  from  the 
express  office. 

Jimmie  approached  the  two  with  a  very 
sober  face  and  an  air  of  mystery. 

"I'll  give  you  three  guesses,"  he  said. 

Ned  looked  the  boy  over  inquiringly,  then, 


-74  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

glancing  at  Jack  and  Frank,  saw  that  there 
really  was  something  to  tell. 

"Akbar!"  he  exclaimed.  " That's  the  first 
guess." 

"Nothin*  dom',"  said  Jimmie. 

"Then  I  waive  the  other  two,"  laughed  Ned. 

"Why  did  you  guess  we  had  seen  or  heard 
of  Akbar?"  asked  Frank,  a  quick  suspicion 
coming  to  his  mind. 

"Because,"  Ned  replied,  "we  went  out  to  the 
express  office,  just  after  you  left,  to  see  about 
the  boats,  and  there  learned  that  a  man 
answering  to  Akbar 's  description  had  been 
there  asking  about  them." 

"The  nerve  of  him,"  cried  Jimmie.  "He's 
got  Saxby  beat  a  mile." 

"What's  that  about  Saxby?"  asked  Harry. 

"He  chased  me  with  a  knife  that  looked  to 
be  more'n'  nine  feet  long,"  explained  Jimmie. 

"This  morning?"  asked  Ned,  visibly 
alarmed  by  the  news. 

"Sure,"  replied  the  boy,  and  then  the  story 
of  what  had  taken  place  at  the  warehouse  by 
the  river  was  told. 

"But  the  nerve  of  Akbar!"  Jimmie  con- 
cluded. "He's  tryin'  to  get  our  boats,  is  he? 
He'll  get  a  wallop  if  he  don't  watch  out!" 

"Well,"  Ned  said,  "there  is  now  no  doubt 
that  the  fellows  are  up  here  in  the  belief  that 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  75 

there  is  gold  hidden  up  the  river.  Well  have 
to  keep  a  keen  lookout  for  them  or  they'll  make 
us  trouble.' 

"How  the  Old  Harry  did  Akbar  know  the 
boats  had  been  shipped  here?"  asked  Frank. 
"That's  what  gets  me." 

"He  probably  found  out  about  our  plans 
before  leaving  New  York,"  was  Ned's  reply. 
"He  appears  to  be  a  foxy  sort  of  chap.  I  have 
no  doubt  he  listened  to  a  lot  of  talk  that  went  on 
in  the  Black  Bear  Club-room.  Anyway,  he's 
out  here,  and  we'll  have  to  watch  out  for  him." 

"He's  got  the  coin,  too,"  grumbled  Jack. 
"He  stole  Dad's  gold  plate.  I'd  like  to  soak 
him  one." 

"If  Saxby  and  Akbar  would  only  get 
together,"  laughed  Frank,  "we'd  be  relieved 
of  the  presence  of  both.  I  should  like  to  see 
the  fight." 

"And  won't  they  be  disappointed,"  said 
Jack,  with  a  nudge  at  Frank's  ribs,  "when 
they  get  to  the  end  of  their  journey  and  find 
no  ruined  temple,  no  gold,  no  nothing  but 
forests  and  mountains!  I'd  like  to  be  there 
then." 

"Get  it  out  of  your  system,"  grunted  Frank. 
"You'll  see  that  there's  something  to  this 
ruined  temple  business." 

"Honest,"  said  Jack,  "do  you  still  believe 


76  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

there  is  a  ruined  temple  up  here,  with  under- 
ground passage  filled  with  gold?" 

"I  don't  know  what  I  believe,"  replied 
Prank.  "But  you'll  see  that  there's  some- 
thing to  the  story." 

And  so  the  two  boys  argued  back  and  forth 
until  Jimmie  left  to  look  over  the  town  and 
Ned  and  Harry  went  to  their  rooms  to  write 
letters  home.  In  the  afternoon  Jimmie  came 
running  back  to  the  hotel  with  the  startling 
information  that  the  express  company  had 
broken  all  records  and  brought  the  boats  in  on 
time. 

"Come  on  out  an'  get  'em,"  the  boy  urged. 
"I  want  to  see  how  they  look  in  the  water. 
Suppose  we  sleep  on  board  to-night?" 

"Me  for  the  town  to-night,"  Jack  replied. 
"I  want  to  meet  some  of  the  boys  who  run 
motor  launches  on  the  lakes.  There's  a  big 
club  here — club  of  sports,  who  have  all  kinds 
of  fun.  I  want  to  meet  them. ' ' 

"Huh!"  Jimmie  grunted,  "I  don't  see  what 
there  is  to  look  at  in  this  old  town.  Nothin' 
doin'  for  me!  I  want  to  get  away  to  the 
mountains.  When  I  see  a  town,  kids,  I  want 
to  see  some  town." 

Now  Frank,  who  had  made  good  use  of  his 
time,  and  had  also  read  up  on  Nelson  and  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  77 

Kootenay  country,  came  back  at  Jimmie  with 
great  pride  in  his  knowledge. 

"There  are  two  hundred  boats  in  the  Launch 
club,"  said  Frank,  "and  they  hold  regattas 
which  take  the  bun.  Why,  the  west  arm  of 
Kootenay  lake  is  a  little  Adriatic  in  the  good 
old  summer  time.  Some  of  the  boats  are 
brought  from  England." 

"Where  does  all  the  money  come  from?" 
demanded  Jimmie.  "I  guess  you  think  the 
people  up  here  pick  it  up  in  the  streets." 

"They  do,  almost,"  laughed  Frank.  "The 
whole  Nelson  district  is  specked  with  paying 
mines,  and  there  is  a  timber  camp  every  few 
feet.  It  is  a  great  country." 

"Any  lions  up  here?"  grinned  Jimmie,  who 
did  not  enjoy  having  his  expressed  opinion  of 
the  place  so  thoroughly  upset. 

"Nary  a  lion,"  replied  Jack,  "but  they  shoot 
bears  and  deer  and  caribou  within  ten  miles 
of  Nelson.  And  up  at  the  Pool  they  get  rain- 
bow trout  weighing  twenty  pounds,  and  Pacific 
salmon  weighing  sixty  pounds." 

"All  right,"  Jimmie  said.  "You're  tellin'  it. 
I  ain't.  Perhaps  these  wise  boys  of  the 
Kootenay  Launch  club  can  tell  us  how  often 
we'll  have  to  take  the  Black  Bear  to  pieces 
before  we  get  to  the  Dalles." 

"You  know  they  can,"  Jack  put  in.    "You 


78  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

bet  our  boats  won't  be  the  first  to  float  down 
the  Columbia.  We'll  go  and  introduce  our- 
selves after  dinner.  Is  it  dinner  at  six  o'clock 
out  here,  or  supper?" 

1  'Neither,"  laughed  Jimmie.  "It's  chuck 
time." 

Presently  Ned  and  Harry  made  their 
appearance,  and  then  the  boys  all  went  over  to 
a  business  office  to  which  the  clerk  at  the  hotel 
iiad  directed  them,  where  they  met  a  Mr.  H.  H. 
Currie,  of  the  Kootenay  Launch  club.  They 
were  invited  to  the  club-house,  and  spent  a  very 
pleasant  evening  there.  Some  of  the  members 
warned  the  boys  against  falls  and  rapids,  while 
others  suggested  that  there  were  still  river  out- 
laws along  the  waterways.  The  lads  listened 
to  all  they  heard,  but  were  not  at  all  dis- 
couraged. 

Early  the  following  morning  the  boats  were 
taken  to  the  water  front  and  put  together,  in 
the  presence  of  an  admiring  audience.  The 
novelty  of  construction  was  commented  on 
favorably,  and  the  water-tight  Wolf  closely 
inspected.  When  all  was  ready,  the  boys  bade 
ther  friend  goodbye  and  the  boats  threaded 
their  way  among  the  board-walks  of  the  city's 
barrier-reef  of  launch-houses  and,  gaining 
the  open  water  of  the  arm,  turned  westward 
followed  by  hearty  cheers. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 


As  they  rounded  Granite  promontory  and 
passed  toward  the  narrowing,  rocky  walls 
which  mark  the  termination  of  navigation,  Ned 
flung  out  an  American  and  a  Canadian  flag  and 
shook  it  valiantly  toward  the  towering  height 
of  Pulpit  Rock,  where  a  cluster  of  friends  still 
watched,  some  of  them  evidently  in  the  belief 
that  the  lads  were  going  to  their  doom. 

They  passed  through  Grohman  rapids  at 
slow  speed,  taking  the  right  side  of  the 
island,  and  followed  the  vagaries  of  the 
current  as  it  swept  around  sandy  points, 
washing  jutting  rocks,  or  filling  out 
broad  reaches.  Presently  the  current  quick- 
ened, and,  four  miles  from  the  city,  the 
boats  entered  the  Granite  rapids,  shot  under 
the  bridge  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  took 
the  boiling  waters  of  the  rapids  boldly. 

On  through  Beaseley  gorge  and  Cora  Linn 
rapids,  and  then  the  boats  faced  the  head- 
works  of  the  West  Kootenay  Power  Com- 
pany's main  power  plant.  Here  were  Upper 
Bonnington  falls,  and  Ned  did  not  care  to  risk 
a  run  over  the  brink,  the  slope  being  at  least 
forty  per  cent.  The  boats  were  soon  taken  to 
pieces  and  carried  around  the  dangerous 
places,  although  the  distance  was  greater  than 
had  been  led  to  expect. 

Through  the  dancing  waters  of  the  Pool  and 


80  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

then  peace !  Taking  a  shoot  around  the  lower 
Pool,  Ned  brought  the  boats  into  a  bend  where 
great  salmon,  fresh  from  their  700-mile  trip 
from  the  Pacific,  make  their  spawning  beds. 
From  this  point  all  was  comparatively  easy 
sailing  to  the  Columbia,  27  miles  away. 

It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  the  setting 
of  the  scene  was  all  that  the  most  critical 
adventurer  could  have  wished.  The  river  was 
wild  and  careless  as  to  its  human  freight  at 
times,  but  there  was  the  lines  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  in  view,  tying  the  lads  to  civilization. 
Finally,  however,  much  to  Jimmie's  delight, 
the  railroad  dodged  off  to  the  west,  but,  much 
to  the  boy's  disgust,  soon  dodged  back  again, 
and  kept  with  the  river  to  Kobeson,  where  it 
crosses  the  Columbia  and  turns  south  on  the 
west  side. 

The  boys  were  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  rail- 
road zone,  and  so  made  good  speed,  stopping  at 
none  of  the  little  towns  along  the  river.  At 
Murphy  the  metals  shot  out  to  the  west,  and 
then  the  boys,  after  a  short  drive  down, 
found  a  suitable  place  and  went  ashore. 

"I'm  glad  we've  got  rid  of  the  railroad," 
Jinmie  said,  looking  about  the  pleasant  scene. 
"I  guess  they  didn't  bring  the  line  along  here 
because  the  hills  and  rocks  might  make  trouble. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  81 

I  hope  we  won't  see  a  rail  again  in  three 
months." 

"You'll  not  get  your  wish,"  Jack  replied, 
"for  the  Great  Northern  trails  the  river,  on  the 
west  bank,  a  short  distance  down.  Nature  and 
civilization  seem  to  be  pretty  well  joined  here. 
We  are  now  not  very  far  from  Marcus,  in  the 
state  of  Washington,  not  far  below  the  bound- 
ary line." 

The  boys  had  chosen  an  ideal  site  for  a  camp. 
The  hills,  the  forest,  the  rushing  river,  the  dim 
haze  on  the  elevations  away  to  the  west,  all  con- 
spired^ to  bring  to  the  breasts  of  the  city-bred 
boys  the  keen  recognition  of  the  mighty  forces 
at  work  beyond  the  sky-scraper  zone. 

It  was  not  yet  sundown  when  the  lads  had 
completed  their  evening  meal.  Indeed,  the  sun 
still  showed  a  round  disc  above  the  treetops 
when  they  packed  the  dishes  away  and 
prepared  for  a  delightful  evening.  The  Black 
Bear  lay  open  to  the  evening  air,  the  panels 
not  having  been  put  up.  Hammocks  had  been 
hung  from  the  corner  standards,  however,  and 
Jack  and  Harry  lay  lazily  swinging  to  and  fro 
as  the  boat  dipped  and  pulled  in  the  current. 
Ned,  Frank  and  Jimmie  sat  by  the  fire  which 
had  been  built  in  the  interest  of  the  evening 
meal. 

The  boys  had  had  a  hard  day  and  were  tired 


82  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

out,  though  each  one  tried  to  conceal  the  fact 
from  all  the  others.  The  Columbia  river 
between  the  junction  and  the  point  where  they 
lay  is  anything  but  a  lake-like  body  of  water, 
and  the  lads  had  been  kept  busy.  Directly 
Frank  called  out: 

"Think  the  man  who  built  the  Singer  build- 
ing could  put  up  anything  like  this,  Jack?" 

"It's  all  right,"  Jack  replied,  "only  I  miss 
the  after-dinner  orchestra." 

"Oh,  you  do?"  exclaimed  Jimmie,  as  the 
boys  laughed  at  the  odd  idea.  "Well,  there's 
your  after-dinner  orchestra,  and  if  it  ain't 
play  in7  'On  the  Bowery'  I'm  a  lobster  I" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  83 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  BEISK  BATTLE  SOON  OVER, 

The  boys  all  sprang  to  their  feet  and  listened. 
Faintly,  softly,  through  the  twilight,  seeming 
at  times  to  be  a  part  of  the  rippling  of  the 
waters  and  the  echo  of  the  rustling  leaves, 
came  the  mellow  notes  of  a  flute.  For  a  moment 
no  one  spoke,  then  Jimmie  exclaimed: 

4 ' What  do  you  fellers  know  about  that?" 

"It  must  be  one  of  Frank's  ghosts,"  Jack 
replied.  "  Perhaps  the  ruined  temple  is  over 
there.  Let's  go  and  see  about  it." 

" There's  woods  and  mountains  over  there, 
and,  perhaps,  a  few  mining  camps,"  said  Ned, 
"but  I  don't  believe  there  are  any  miners  in 
this  country  who  can  make  a  flute  talk  like 
that.  I  think  we'll  have  to  investigate." 

"Not  much  mining  over  there,"  Harry 
Stevens  said,  in  a  moment.  "Here,"  he  went 
on,  drawing  out  a  map  and  bending  down  to 
the  fire  with  it.  "Look  at  this.  Here  we  are 
on  the  Columbia  river,  below  the  Kootenay 
branch — or  the  end  of  the  west  arm  of  Koot- 
enay lake,  rather — and  this  rough  country  to 
the  west  shows  just  as  it  is.  All  mountains 
and  forests  clear  to  the  Fraser  river,  and  that 


84  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

must  be  two  hundred  miles,  as  the  crow  flies, 
I  take  it.  The  Rocky  mountains  and  the 
Cascades  seem  to  meet  here ;  still,  I  don't  think 
there's  much  mining  going  on." 

"Well,"  Jack  insisted,  "there's  some 
civilized  human  being  in  the  forest  not  far 
away,  and  we  ought  to  find  out  what's  going 
on." 

"Of  course  he's  a  civilized  human  being," 
Jimmie  grinned.  "If  he  wasn't  he  wouldn't 
be  playin'  that  classical  air,  'On  the  Bowery!' 
But  I'm  not  goin'  to  wade  into  that  jungle  just 
now.  I'm  goin'  to  remain  here  an'  reflect!" 

"Some  one  ought  to  remain  here,  anyway," 
Frank  said,  "so  you  watch  the  boats  while  you 
reflect,  and  while  we  rescue  this  maiden  in 
distress.  Come  on,  boys." 

The  lads  secured  their  weapons  from  the 
boat  and  started  off  into  the  dim  forest. 
When  the  mysterious  musician  switched  from 
"On  the  Bowery"  to  a  dreamy  waltz,  Jack 
seized  Prank  about  the  waist  and  went  dancing 
into  the  thicket. 

The  four  boys  started  away  together,  but 
Ned  dropped  back,  in  a  moment,  and  looked 
toward  the  river.  Jimmie  sat  by  the  fire,  his 
head  bent  forward  in  a  listening  attitude,  a 
revolver  withing  easy  reach  of  his  hand. 

"Come  on,  Ned,"  Jack  called  out. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVSS.  85 

"I'll  be  along  directly,"  Ned  replied. 

"All  right,"  came  the  answer.  "Don't  let 
a  lion  bite  you!" 

"Take  good  care  of  the  boats,  Jimmie," 
iTrank  shouted. 

"Go  on!"  answered  the  boy.  "If  any  one 
goes  fussin'  around  here  he'll  get  his  crust 
busted.  Say,"  he  continued,  whimsically,  "if 
youse  come  to  a  bakery,  bring  me  a  pie!  I 
forgot  to  bring  canned  pie!" 

The  three  boys  shouted  back  some  laughing 
reply  and  disappeared  in  the  underbrush  which 
lay  under  the  trees.  Then  Ned  moved  closer 
to  the  camp  fire  and  hid  in  a  clump  of  bushes. 
He  was  no  altogether  satisfied  that  the  call 
from  the  forest  was  not  a  lure — that  enemies 
were  not  lurking  about,  bent  on  mischief. 

From  the  moment  the  visit  to  the  Columbia 
river  country  had  been  decided  on,  there  had 
been  indications  of  surveillance.  Akbar  had 
listened  at  the  door  of  the  Black  Bear  club- 
room  in  the  Bosworth  house.  Saxby  had 
searched  the  private  office  of  the  master  of  the 
house  for  information  concerning  a  ruined 
temple,  said  by  fable  to  be  not  far  from  the 
proposed  vacation  route.  The  former  had 
been  seen  at  the  Nelson  express  office,  asking 
about  the  motor  boats,  and  the  latter  had  been 


86  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

discovered  lurking  in  the  river-fron^fc  ware- 
house at  the  same  place. 

Besides,  at  intervals  during  the  ride  from 
New  York  to  Nelson,  the  boy  had  caught 
glimpses  of  men  who  seemed  to  be  watching 
the  party.  Ned  did  not  believe  a  word  of  the 
extravagant  stories  told  by  Frank  of  the 
alleged  temple  and  the  hidden  gold,  but  he  did 
believe  that  Akbar  and  Saxby  were  infatuated 
with  the  dreams  of  wealth  seemingly  opened 
to  them  by  the  yarns.  Just  why  they  should 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  vacationists,  Ned 
could  not  imagine. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  they  ought  to  be 
leading  the  way  instead  of  dogging  the  trail 
of  the  Boy  Scouts.  The  only  reason  he  could 
find  for  the  course  being  pursued  involved 
either  the  loss  of  the  book  taken  from  the  den 
or  the  failure  of  the  volume  to  point  the  way 
to  the  fabled  treasure.  On  reflection,  Ned 
accepted  the  latter  reason  as  the  most  likely 
one. 

But  here  was  another  point  which  the  boy 
could  not  understand.  If  the  two  men  who 
were  trailing  the  party  had  been  sufficiently 
diligent  to  discover  the  line  of  argument 
when  reference  to  the  ruined  temple  was  made, 
then  it  seemed  that  they  ought  to  know  that 
the  boys  were  not  going  into  the  wilds  of  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  87 

Columbia  with  any  notion  of  finding  buried 
gold.  Indeed,  Ned  was  certain  that  the  two 
ex-servants  of  the  Bosworth  household  knew 
that  the  discovery  of  the  gold  was  not  the 
motive  of  the  trip. 

So,  he  thought,  there  must  be  some  other 
reason  for  the  perplexing  surveillance  now 
going  on.  Of  this,  of  course,  he  had  no  proof ; 
still  he  knew  that  Akbar  and  Saxby  really  had 
better  reasons  than  the  light  talk  which  had 
been  held  in  the  club-room  concerning  the 
hidden  treasure  for  making  such  a  journey. 

Presently,  while  Ned  watched  intently  for 
a  signal  tending  to  show  the  presence  of  a 
hostile  interest,  Jimmie  arose  from  his  posi- 
tion by  the  fire  and  began  gathering  dry  wood. 
After  he  had  secured  quite  a  store  of  this  he 
began  cutting  green  bushes  and  limbs  and 
heaping  them  beside  the  other.  Ned  looked 
on  in  wonder,  as  the  boy  was  not  noted  for 
his  industry  about  the  camp. 

After  a  time  Jimmie  paused  from  his  work 
and  stood  for  a  minute  gazing  over  the  forest 
into  which  his  chums  had  disappeared.  Ned 
watched  him  closely,  and  was  about  to  disclose 
his  presence  there  when  the  boy  began  heaping 
the  dry  wood  into  three  piles,  all  in  a  straight 
line,  the  fire  already  burning  at  one  end. 


88  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

This  finished,  he  heaped  the  green  boughs  on 
top  of  the  piles. 

While  Ned  watched  with  growing  interest 
he  heard  a  soft  footfall  in  the  thicket  and 
directly  Harry  Stevens  stood  by  his  side. 

"What's  Jimmie  doing?"  the  latter  asked. 

"Just  what  I  was  trying  to  puzzle  out,"  was 
the  reply. 

Jimmie  now  took  living  brands  from  the 
campfire  and  ignited  the  three  heaps,  at  the 
same  time  throwing  green  boughs  on  the  fire 
already  going. 

"Four  fires!"  whispered  Harry. 

"Four  smoky  fires!"  Ned  corrected. 

"What  does  it  mean?"  asked  Harry. 

Ned  chuckled  and  drew  Harry  down  by  his 
side. 

"The  lad  is  trying  to  beat  us  to  the 
musician,"  he  said. 

"By  standing  still  there  by  the  fires?" 

"No;  by  resorting  to  the  use  of  the  wire- 
less." 

"Well,  what's  the  answer?" 

"Indian  signs,"  replied  Ned,  with  a  grin. 

"I  begin  to  see!" 

"One  column  for  a  camp?" 

"Of  course." 

"Two  means  a  call  for  help?" 

"Yes;  that's  it,  all  right,  but  he's  got  four.'w 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  89 


*  Three  indicates  good  news?" 

"Yes,  of  course.  I  remember  now,  and  four 
means  a  call  to  council — in  other  words, 
Jimmie  is  saying  to  some  one  out  in  the  woods 
'Come  on  in  and  we'll  talk  it  over/  Is  that 
right?"  Harry  added,  half  rising  to  look  over 
the  forest  in  search  of  some  answering  signal. 

"Too  early  to  look  for  an  answer,"  Ned  said, 
"but  you  have  it  right.  If  there  are  either 
Indians  or  Boy  Scouts  about  we'll  soon  see 
some  answer  lifting  above  the  tops  of  the 
trees." 

"I  don't  look  for  any  Boy  Scouts  up  here." 

"I  met  several  in  Nelson,"  Ned  said. 

The  two  boys  waited,  watching  the  heayy 
columns  of  smoke  lift  in  the  sky  for  several 
minutes,  and  then  Ned  asked: 

"Where  are  Jack  and  Frank?" 

"I  left  them  climbing  a  hill." 

"Did  you  seem  to  be  any  nearer  the  musician 
when  you  turned  back?" 

"No  I  guess  he  was  going  faster  than  we 
were." 

"I  wish  we  had  a  small  rowboat  here,"  Ned 
whispered,  directly.  "I  would  like  to  look 
over  the  forest  from  the  other  side  of  the 
river." 

Harry  pointed  to  the  west  bank  below  the 
fires. 


90  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

" There's  our  rowboat,"  he  said. 

"No,"  Ned  replied.  "Our  rowboat  is  tied 
up  above  the  tender.  I  can  see  it  now." 

Harry  shook  his  chum  by  the  shoulder. 

"Then  what  is  that  down  there?"  he  asked. 

"Seems  to  be  a  boat,"  Ned  said,  calmly. 

"Well,  it  wasn't  there  when  we  camped." 

"No;  it  surely  wasn't." 

"Well,  then?" 

Ned  rubbed  his  forehead  reflectively. 

"I  don't  see  how  it  got  there,"  he  said. 
"There  are  rapids  below  just  around  that 
rocky  bend,  and  no  man  would  be  able  to  row 
a  boat  like  that  up  through  them.  It  strikes 
me  that  the  people  who  came  in  that  boat  came 
down  the  river,  and  are  now  waiting  for  us  with 
mischief  in  their  minds." 

"We  ought  to  notify  Jack  and  Frank," 
Harry  suggested.  "Some  of  the  loafers  may 
be  up  in  the  woods  now ;  may  have  tuned  up  on 
that  flute." 

"They  seem  to  be  safe  for  the  present,"  Ned 
replied.  "We  should  hear  a  noise  if  they 
were  in  trouble.  The  thing  to  do  now  is  to  lay 
hands  on  these  river  pirates." 

As  Ned  ceased  speaking  a  figure  shot  out 
from  the  shadows  nearer  the  fire  and  seized 
Jimmie.  The  boy  struggled  valiantly,  but  his 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  91 

opponent  was  a  muscular  fellow  and  was  rap- 
idly drawing  him  toward  the  river. 

"Wait  until  we  see  how  many  of  them  there 
are/'  Ned  whispered  as  Harry  attempted  to 
spring  forward  to  Jimmie's  assistance.  "We 
can  get  that  rascal  at  any  time." 

There  were  at,  least  three  more,  for  that 
number  appeared  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
lower  down,  and  dashed  toward  the  boats. 
They  had  evidently  come  from  the  vicinity  of 
the  rowboat. 

"They're  after  our  boats  now,"  Harry 
gritted.  "Suppose  we  open  fire  on  them?" 

Ned's  idea  was  to  get  close  enough  to  the 
intruders  to  see  what  they  looked  like,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  identify  them  at  some  future  time, 
for  he  knew  very  well  that  they  would  not 
stand  and  put  up  a  fight  under  fire  from  the 
thicket.  But  before  he  could  make  Harry 
understand  that  they  ought  to  advance  cau- 
tiously, even  capture  one  of  the  rascals  if  pos- 
sible, that  rash  young  man  turned  his  auto- 
matic loose. 

The  shots  resulted  in  a  quick  change  in  the 
situation.  The  three  men,  now  at  the  boat, 
/  turned  and  ran  into  the  forest,  and  the  fellow 
who  was  dragging  Jimmie  along  followed 
them.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  motor 
boats  had  been  released  from  their  fastenings 


92  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

by  some  quick  hand,  and  were  now  drifting  out 
into  the  swift  current.  The  purpose  of  the 
attack  was  now  quite  evident.  The  boats  were 
in  demand! 

By  this  time  Ned  and  Harry,  inactive  no 
longer,  were  running  at  the  top  of  their  speed 
along  the  bank,  toward  the  drifting  craft. 
Jimmie  saw  that  assistance  was  at  hand  and 
devoted  his  combative  talent  to  the  capture  of 
the  man  who  had  attacked  him.  But  the  fel- 
low was  too  quick  for  the  lad,  and  in  a  moment 
he  was  too  quick,  followed  by  a  volley  of  bul- 
lets from  the  boy's  automatic. 

Then  a  double  splash  in  the  water  told  Jim- 
mie that  Ned  and  Harry  were  trying  to  regain 
the  boats,  so  he  seized  a  rope  and  darted  after 
them,  taking  up  a  position  a  little  in  advance 
of  the  drifting  craft.  In  the  meantime  Ned 
and  Harry  were  having  a  desperate  struggle 
with  the  current. 

They  knew  that  they  would  not  be  able  to 
work  the  boats  back  to  their  former  moorings, 
so  they  let  them  float  without  trying  to  stem 
their  progress,  all  the  time  endeavoring  to 
draw  them  nearer  to  the  shore.  When  they 
came  opposite  to  where  Jimmie  stood  he  tossed 
Ned  the  end  of  his  rope,  and  in  a  moment  the 
danger  was  past. 

Jimmie  was  drawn  down  the  stream  on  a 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  93 

run  as  the  two  boats  pulled  at  the  line,  but  in  a 
short  time  Ned  and  Harry  joined  him  on  the 
bank  and  the  boats  were  hauled  in  and  tied  up. 
Then  the  boys  looked  at  each  other  for  a  mo- 
ment without  speaking,  Ned  and  Harry  drip- 
ping with  river  water. 

"Wouldn't  that  get  you?" 

Jimmie  was  the  first  to  speak.  He  looked 
at  Ned  and  then  passed  his  eyes  over  the  forest 
to  the  west. 

"They  came  pretty  near  getting  the  boats," 
Harry  said,  dripping  and  panting. 

"Why  did  they  quit  so  soon?"  asked  Jim- 
mie. "They  might  have  got  away  with  the 
bluff." 

"Because,"  Ned  said,  thoughtfully,  "they 
do  not  know  how  to  run  the  motor  boat,  and 
did  not  dare  embark  in  it  after  they  had  failed 
quietly  to  capture  you." 

"That  must  be  it,"  Jimmie  answered,  "but, 
all  the  same,  they'd  'a'  got  mighty  few  lessons 
in  boat  management  from  me.  Where  do  you 
think  they  came  from?" 

"I  imagine  they've  been  following  us  in  the 
hope  of  annexing  the  boats,"  Harry  replied. 
"Such  boats  as  the  Black  Bear  and  the  Wolf 
are  not  often  seen  in  these  waters,  you  know." 

"And  one  of  them  played  the  flute?"  de- 
manded Jimmie,  throwing  more  wood  on  the 


94  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

fires  in  order  that  Ned  and  Harry  might  dry 
themselves.  "I  don't  believe  it!"  he  added, 
giving  the  negative  to  his  own  question. 

"You  may  search  me  if  you  think  I  have 
any  information  on  the  subject!"  laughed 
Harry.  "I  don't  know  a  blooming  thing  about 
it!  For  all  I  know,  these  chaps  may  be  in 
quest  of  Prank's  ruined  temple!" 

Jimmie  grinned,  and  then  turned  to  Ned, 
who  seemed  to  be  watching  some  movement  in 
the  forest,  or  above  it. 

"Say!"  he  said,  then,  "there's  the  answer  to 
my  wireless!" 

"That's  right,"  Harry  said.  "Indian  sig- 
nals." 

"How  many  columns  of  smoke  do  you  see?" 
asked  Ned. 

"Two,"  replied  both  the  others. 

"That's  a  call  for  assistance,"  Ned  said, 
thoughtfully. 

"Jack  and  Frank  are  in  trouble,  then!"  de- 
clared Harry. 

"I  hardly  think,"  Ned  said,  "that  they  have 
had  time  to  get  as  far  away  as  those  columns 
of  smoke  are.  Those  fires  must  be  a  mile 
away." 

"Huh!"  Jimmie  put  in.  "We  couldn't  see 
'em  if  they  were." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  95 

"We  could  if  they  were  high  up  above  us," 
Ned  went  on. 

4  *  Well,  anyway,  it's  a  Boy  Scout  signal  for 
help,"  Jimmie  insisted,  "and  I'm  goin'  to  see 
what  it's  all  about." 

"I  believe  it's  just  another  scheme  to  geezle 
the  boats,"  Harry  said,  in  a  moment. 

"Let  them  alone.  Where  do  you  suppose 
Jack  and  Frank  are  ?" 

The  question  was  answered  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  boys  in  person.  They  had  heard 
the  shots  and  hastened  back  to  camp. 

"Did  you  bring  your  band  with  you?"  asked 
Jimmie. 

"There's  no  band  in  there,"  Jack  replied. 
"That's  nothing  but  a  noise!" 

"We  had  something  more  than  a  noise 
here,"  Jimmie  grinned,  pointing  to  the  boats, 
much  lower  down  stream  than  before. 

The  situation  was  explained  in  a  few  words, 
and  the  boys  gathered  closer  to  study  out  the 
difficult  problem  now  presented. 

"I  can't  understand  about  that  music,"  Ned 
said,  after  a  short  silence.  "Did  you  hear  it 
distinctly  after  you  got  into  the  forest?" 

' 1  It  grew  fainter, ' '  Frank  replied.  * '  Seemed 
as  if  the  man  playing  it  was  riding  away  from 
us  at  good  speed." 

"And   the    Indian   signals?"    asked   Ned. 


90  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"What  about  that  feature  of  the  evening's  en- 
tertainment?" 

"Why,  we  saw  your  signals/'  was  the  re- 
ply, "and  heard  your  shots,  and  so  we  came 
into  camp." 

"But  there  was  a  call  for  help  back  of  you 
in  the  forest,"  Ned  said.  "Is  it  possible  that 
you  didn't  see  that?" 

"Never  a  see,"  Jack  said.  "Of  course  the 
trees  would  prevent  our  getting  a  sight  of  it. 
You  might  see  it  from  here,  but  we  couldn't 
from  where  we  were." 

"It's  mighty  queer,"  remarked  Frank. 

"Speaking  of  the  evening's  entertainment," 
laughed  Jimmie,  "what  do  you  think  of  callin' 
it  off  an'  goin'  to  bed  ?  For  a  real  lively  show, 
with  guns  in  1.  u.  e.,  this  seems  to  be  the  right 
thing.  I'm  goin'  to  bed  an'  forget  it." 

"Go  to  it,"  said  Jack.  "I'll  sit  up  and  give 
your  friends  a  cordial  reception  if  they  show 
up  during  the  night.  Tumble  in,  kids,  and  see 
your  uncle  stand  guard!" 

Ned  did  not  follow  Frank  and  the  others  to 
the  boat  when  they  prepared  their  beds  for 
their  first  out-of-door  sleep  on  the  trip, 
but  remained  by  the  comfortable  fires  which 
Jimmie  had  built.  The  sun  had  long  since 
disappeared  and  a  silvery  moonlight  lay  over 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  97 

the  landscape.    Jack  was  first  the  break  the 
silence. 

'The  strange  rowboat  is  gone/'  he  said,  ex- 
citedly. "I  saw  it  there  a  short  time  ago,  but 
they've  come  back  and  sneaked  it  off.  River 
pirates,  eh?" 

" Probably,"  Ned  replied,  his  eyes  fixed  on 
the  forest  elevations  to  the  west. 

"Then  you  don't  think  Akbar  or  Saxby 
guilty  of  that  attack?" 

"It  doesn't  seem  as  if  they  would  follow  us 
with  a  force  of  strangers,"  Ned  replied.  "No, 
I  guess  river  outlaws  wanted  our  boats.  And," 
the  boy  continued,  "I'm  of  the  opinion  that 
they'll  keep  on  trying  to  get  them.  You  no- 
ticed that  they  did  not  take  the  chance  of 
smashing  them  in  the  rapids?  And  they  not 
only  want  the  boats,  but  they  want  to  get  one 
of  us  to  run  them.  At  least  that  is  the  way  it 
looks  to  me  now.-" 

"The  boats  sure  do  look  attractive,"  Jack 
agreed.  "Are  you  still  watching  the  Indian 
signals?"  he  added,  seeing  his  chum's  atten- 
tion was  still  fixed  on  the  distant  forest 

"I've  seldom  taken  my  eyes  from  them," 
was  the  reply.  "There  are  three  columns  of 
smoke  now,  and  that  means  'Good  news.'  So, 
you  see,  there's  been  a  change  in  the  situation 
sinc«  sundown." 


98  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"The  Canadian  Pacific  line  is  over  there," 
Jack  mused,  half  to  himself,  "and  the  smoke 
columns  may  be  just  accidental.  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  tramps  were  cooking  their  supper 
on  the  railroad's  right  of  way." 

But  Ned  could  not  settle  the  matter  so  com- 
fortably. On  reflection  he  became  convinced 
that  the  attack  had  really  been  made  by  river 
outlaws  who  wanted  to  secure  the  boats,  that 
the  signals  were  genuine  and  intended  as  a 
means  of  communication  with  the  authors  of 
the  four-column  signal,  and  that  the  two 
treacherous  servants  who  had  followed  them 
from  New  York  would  be  heard  from  later  on. 

Although  Jack  insisted  on  standing  guard, 
Ned  did  not  sleep  much  that  night.  His  mind 
was  too  full  of  anxiety  to  admit  of  slumber. 
However,  the  smoke  signals  soon  died  out,  and 
the  night  lay  white  under  the  moonlight, 
broken  only  now  and  then  by  the  call  of  a 
night  bird  or  the  rustling  of  the  thicket  as 
some  wild  creature  passed  that  way. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVER.  99 


CHAPTER  VH. 

THE  BLACK  BEAR  TAKES  A  DROP. 

The  sun  arose  in  a  cloudless  sky  the  next 
morning  and  the  boys  were  early  astir.  Ned 
and  Jack  slept  a  couple  of  hours  while  the 
others  were  getting  breakfast  and  making 
ready  for  the  start  and  awoke  as  brisk  and 
eager  for  the  day's  adventures  as  were  their 
chums.  Before  leaving  the  camp  Jack  and 
Harry  strolled  into  the  woods  and  looked  about 
for  some  signs  of  their  serenade  party. 

"If  the  chap  who  played  the  flute  wasn't  one 
of  Frank's  ghosts,"  Jack  said,  "we  ought  to 
find  some  of  his  tracks  not  far  from  the  river." 

"I  reckon  it  must  have  been  a  dream," 
laughed  Harry. 

"Dream  nix!"  was  the  reply.  "Anyway, 
that  soloist,  or  some  one  in  here,  answered 
Jimmie's  Indian  signals.  If  we  go  in  far 
enough  we  may  find  where  he  built  his  fire." 

"Those  columns  of  smoke,"  Harry  insisted, 
"were,  as  Ned  says,  at  least  a  mile  away.  The 
reason  we  saw  them  so  plainly  is  because  they 
were  on  an  elevation,  and  the  moonlight  struck 
them  at  just  the  right  angle.  If  we  wait  to 
find  where  he  camped,  we'll  never  get  down  the 


100  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

river.  The  flute  player  was  nearer  to  us,  but 
he  probably  left  no  tracks." 

Jack  was  finally  induced  to  take  this  view 
of  the  matter,  and  the  two  returned  to  camp 
just  as  the  boys  were  ready  to  push  off.  The 
double-cylinder  engine  of  the  Black  Bear  was 
popping  merrily,  and  the  Wolf  lay  ready  to 
follow  in  her  wake.  Ned  took  the  wheel  and 
they  were  off. 

In  half  an  hour  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
rapids  whose  murmur  they  had  listened  to  at 
intervals  during  the  night,  and  Ned  drew  up 
toward  the  west  bank,  out  of  the  strong  cur- 
rent. Jimniie  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
pointed  down  stream. 

' '  That 's  nothin  V '  he  cried.  i  l  Why  don  't  you 
go  on?" 

"Too  great  a  fall,"  said  Jack. 

Harry  lifted  his  field-glass  and  inspected  the 
swirling  waters. 

"I  don't  see  any  boulders,"  he  remarked. 
"Suppose  we  try  it,  and  see  what  the  Black 
Bear  is  good  for?" 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then 
Jimmie  shouted : 

"Off  we  go!  Anybody  want  to  get  eut  an' 
walk?" 

"Well,"  Ned  said,  "I  don't  see  anj  reason 
•why  we  shouldn't  take  a  chance  here.  We 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEE.  101 

shall  find  a  good  many  places  like  this  in  the 
river,  and  I  don't  propose  to  be  taking  the 
boat  apart  every  few  minutes." 

Before  he  ceased  speaking  the  Black  Bear 
was  nosing  into  the  current,  and  the  speed  of 
the  craft  became  rather  startling.  The  engine 
was,  of  course,  kept  going,  for  without  speed- 
way the  boat  would  soon  have  been  overturned, 
but  the  current  seemed  to  be  furnishing  most 
of  the  propelling  power. 

There  was  a  sharp  turn  in  the  river  some  dis- 
tance down,  and  Ned  swung  far  out  to  the  west 
in  order  to  make  it  without  being  sucked 
against  the  first  angle,  where  there  was  a  show 
of  boulders.  By  this  time  the  boat  was  going 
like  the  wind,  and  the  boys  were  clinging  to  the 
steel  framework,  or  anything  that  seemed 
stable. 

When  the  Black  Bear  came  to  the  head  of 
the  bend  so  that  the  course  before  her  could  be 
seen  clearly  Ned's  usually  impassive  face  grew 
set  and  anxious,  and  he  swung  toward  the 
shore.  There  seemed  to  be  quite  a  lofty  fall 
directly  ahead. 

Harry,  who  had  clung  to  his  field-glass 
throughout,  bent  over  and  whispered  in  Ned's 
ear: 

"Don't  try  that,  old  chap.    There  are  jagged 


102  FSY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

rocks  all  along  that  shore.  The  boat  wouldn't 
last  a  minute  in  there." 

"Then  it  is  us  for  the  running  water,"  Ned 
said,  shutting  his  jaws  tight.  "Hold  tight,  all 
you  fellows,"  he  added,  facing  the  others, 
"we're  going  to  take  a  drop." 

"Why  didn't  you  say  so?"  demanded  Jim- 
mie,  with  a  sickly  grin.  "I'd  'a'  brought  a 
parachute.  No  wonder  them  tramps  didn't 
want  to  take  the  boats  out  last  night,  and  they 
not  knowin'  how  to  operate  'em!" 

It  now  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  prevent 
the  costly  craft  being  wrecked  in  the  drop 
just  ahead.  In  places  the  water  poured  over 
the  lip  of  the  descent  smoothly,  but  here  and 
there  it  was  broken  as  if  by  underlying  rocks. 
Off  to  the  right  there  was  a  current  which  led 
around  the  west  end,  where  the  obstruction 
over  which  the  river  tumbled  seemed  to  be 
lower. 

Frank  pointed  this  out  and  waited  for  Ned 
to  direct  the  boat  in  that  direction.  Instead 
of  doing  this,  however,  the  boy  at  the  wheel 
called  out  to  the  others  to  hang  on  tight  and 
steered  for  the  very  center  of  the  river,  where 
the  water  poured  over  the  break  in  great  vol- 
ume, running  smoothly. 

It  was  all  done  in  an  instant.  Ned  reached 
forward  and  put  on  every  inch  of  power  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  103 

engine  afforded  and  set  his  teeth  to  meet  the 
coming  jump.  It  was  a  desperate  game  he  was 
playing,  but  it  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  worth 
while,  the  only  one  that  held  out  any  pros- 
pect of  safety  for  the  craft. 

Almost  before  the  boys  could  catch  their 
breath  the  prow  of  the  Black  Bear  was  in  the 
air  over  the  swirl  below.  Frank,  who  was  in 
the  prow,  said  afterwards  that  the  fall  looked 
about  as  high  as  the  roof  of  a  twenty-story 
sky-scraper. 

The  boat  was  well  balanced  and  did  not  tip. 
The  momentum  was  doing  much  to  keep  it 
right  side  up.  Ned  had  figured  on  this,  and 
now  he  waited  anxiously  for  the  last  kick  of 
the  propeller  against  the  wall  of  water.  If 
she  cleared  the  down- tumbling  mass  they  might 
save  the  boat.  If  she  did  not,  they  would  be 
lucky  if  they  escaped  with  their  lives. 

The  last  kick  of  the  propeller  pushed  hard, 
and  the  boat  shot  clear  of  the  vertical  stream. 
It  seemed  to  float  in  air  for  an  instant  and  then 
drop  with  a  thud  which  shook  the  bones  in  the 
tensely  drawn  figures  clinging  to  anything 
within  reach.  But  the  drop  was  only  to  the 
surface.  The  staunch  little  boat  did  not  dive. 
The  racing  propeller  caught  the  water  and 
pushed  her  ahead  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow. 


104  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

When  Ned  slowed  down  the  falls  were  a  mile 
in  the  rear. 

Jimmie  stood  up  and  rubbed  his  back.  Frank 
and  Harry  turned  toward  Ned  and  looked  at 
him  as  one  looks  at  an  insane  person.  Jack 
doubled  up  with  laughter,  now  and  then  send- 
ing out  a  shout  which  echoed  along  the  valley 
with  mocking  reality. 

1  'What  did  you  do  that  for?"  demanded 
Frank,  rubbing  his  chin,  which  had  been 
bumped  on  a  knee  in  the  drop. 

Ned  turned  the  boat  toward  the  west  bank 
and  notified  Jack  with  a  prod  that  it  was  his 
turn  at  the  wheel.  He  was  a  trifle  pale,  but 
there  was  a  smile  of  triumph  on  his  resolute 
face. 

"What  did  I  do  what  for?"  he  asked, 
stretching  his  legs  as  Jack,  still  roaring  with 
laugher,  took  the  wheel. 

'  *  Give  us  that  bump, ' '  replied  Frank.  ' l  You 
near  broke  my  neck.  Why  didn't  you  turn 
off  to  the  right  and  drop  down  through  that 
break?" 

"I  took  a  notion,"  Ned  replied,  "to  land  in 
deep  water." 

Frank  studied  over  the  proposition  for  a 
minute  and  then  grinned. 

"I'm  a  dunce,"  he  said.    "If  you'd  'a'  gone 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  105 

down  that  channel  the  boat  would  have  been 
smashed  into  kindling  on  the  rocks.    I  see !" 

"You've  guessed  it!"  roared  Jack.  "I  saw 
by  the  look  on  your  face  when  Ned  went  over 
the  falls  that  you  thought  he  had  gone  daffy. 
Say,  but  it  was  funny,  the  way  you  stared  at 

him." 

"Next  time,  when  you  drop  out  of  a  twelve- 
story  window,  I'll  take  the  elevator,"  said  Jim- 
mie.  "I'm  all  scrambled,  you  shook  me  up 
so." 

"You'd  have  been  scrambled  for  keeps  if 
Ned  had  taken  the  boat  down  by  any  other 
route,"  Jack  said. 

"The  Black  Bear  ought  to  be  able  to  go 
through  anything,  after  that,"  Frank  ob- 
served. "It  is  a  wonder  to  me  that  her  engine 
didn't  drop  through  the  bottom." 

"That  isn't  the  way  she  was  built,"  Harry 
replied.  "I  guess  Dad  knows  how  to  build  a 
boat  that  won't  drop  to  pieces  the  first  trip! 
Besides,  how  much  of  a  fall  do  you  think  we 
went  over?" 

"Looked  like  seventeen  hundred  feet  to  me," 
said  Jimmie. 

""Well,  it  was  about  five  feet,"  Harry  cor- 
rected. "If  we  hadn't  been  going  so  like  the 
dickens,  I  guess  we'd  have  tipped  over,  but 


106  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

speed  saved  us.  Desperate  undertaking, 
though,"  he  added. 

"One  I  don't  care  about  taking  again,"  Ned 
said,  looking  over  the  propeller  and  the  en- 
gine. "We'd  be  in  a  nice  fix  if  the  Black  Bear 
should  go  back  on  us." 

The  boat  was  found  to  be  unharmed,  though 
it  seemed  almost  a  miracle  that  the  engine  had 
not  shifted.  The  Wolf,  having  been  built  in 
watertight,  cylindrical  form  to  meet  just  such 
emergencies,  was,  of  course,  all  right.  After 
a  close  inspection  of  the  boat  Jimmie  began 
getting  out  his  fishing  rod. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Get  a  couple  of  fish  for  dinner,"  was  the 
reply. 

"I've  got  a  picture  of  you  catching  fish  in 
those  rapids,"  observed  Jack. 

"Huh,"  grunted  Jimmie,  "one  of  the  men 
at  the  Kootenay  Launch  club  rooms  told  me 
that  the  best  place  to  fish  is  just  below  a  rush 
of  water.  You  remember  that  when  we  were 
lugging  the  boats  around  Bonnington  falls, 
about  eighteen  miles  from  Nelson,  we  saw  a  lot 
of  fishers  at  the  head  of  the  pool.  There's 
where  they  get  their  prize  rainbow  trout.  The 
water  rushes  down  the  canyons  and  spreads 
out  in  the  pool,  and  I  guess  the  fish  wait  there 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  107 

for  food.  Well,  this  place  looks  to  me  like  the 
pool." 

"Go  it!"  laughed  Ned.  "I  wouldn't  mind 
having  a  couple  of  rainbow  trout  for  dinner. 
See  what  you  can  do,  little  one!" 

Now,  Jimmie  looked  upon  the  appellation 
" little  one"  as  a  term  of  reproach,  so  he 
frowned  and  set  about  his  work  with  a  deter- 
mination to  show  his  chums  that  he  was  any- 
thing but  a  "little  one"  when  it  came  to 
catching  rainbow  trout.  Fishing  is  not  always 
a  swift  game.  Sometimes  there  is  more  need 
of  patience  than  any  other  quality,  but  there 
is  always  excitement  enough  in  "rapids"  fish- 
ing to  cause  one  to  forget  everything  else. 

Jimmie  got  out  the  little  rowboat — a  light 
little  concern  which  would  carry  only  two,  and 
which  one  could  handle  easily — and  rowed  up 
to  the  foot  of  the  swiftly  flowing  water  and, 
backing  the  boat  about,  cast  his  fly.  The  cur- 
rent caught  the  lure  and  hustled  it  off  down 
stream,  tossing  it  about  on  the  surface  as  it 
moved  on. 

The  boys,  watching  with  amused  interest  on 
the  shore  and  on  the  Black  Bear,  saw  him  give 
a  quick  pull  on  his  line,  and  saw  the  line 
tighten.  The  boat,  prow  down  stream,  quiv- 
ered and  tipped  a  trifle,  but  the  boy  was  too 


108  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

busily  playing  the  fish  to  pay  much  attention 
to  that. 

"Give  him  more  rope!"  shouted  Jack. 

"Pull  him  in!"  roared  Harry. 

"Jump  in  and  get  him!"  advised  Prank. 

It  seemed  that  Jimmie  rejected  the  advice  of 
the  first  speakers  and  followed  that  of  Frank, 
for  at  that  moment  the  boat  swung  broadside 
to  the  current,  and  the  boy  went  over,  clinging 
to  his  bamboo  as  he  ducked  under. 

The  capsized  boy  was  at  least  spared  fur- 
ther advice  and  comment  from  the  shore  at 
that  time,  for  it  was  a  minute  before  he  came  to 
the  surface  again.  Ned  was  turning  on  the 
power  in  the  motor  boat,  and  Jack  was  swing- 
ing a  life  buoy,  but  Jimmie  shoved  his  bamboo 
down  stream  out  of  the  way,  wrapped  the  line 
once  around  his  right  shoulder,  and  struck  out 
for  the  shore,  which  he  reached  some  hundred 
yards  below  the  mooring  place. 

The  instant  he  struck  the  bank  he  sat  calmly 
down  and  began  playing  the  fish  once  more, 
while  Jack  and  Frank  ran  down  to  where  he 
sat,  paying  no  attention  whatever  to  the  shouts 
of  laughter  which  greeted  him,  or  to  Ned, 
swinging  out  in  the  Black  Bear  to  regain  the 
rowboat,  fast  drifting  down  stream. 

"What  are  you  doing,  little  one?"  asked 
Frank.  "Pulling  in  a  fish?" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  109 

No,"  replied  the  boy,  with  wry  face,  "I'm 
gettin'  me  shoes  shined." 

"Do  you  think  you've  got  a  fish  on  there?" 
asked  Jack,  nudging  his  chum. 

"No,"  replied  Jimmie,  hauling  in  now  with 
good  speed,  "I've  got  a  red  house  with  green 
blinds  on  this  here  line.  Say,  why  don't  you 
fellers  wake  up?  Sure  I've  got  a  fish  on 
here!" 

And  the  next  moment  disclosed  the  fact  that 
he  had  really  saved  the  fish,  a  fine  rainbow 
trout  weighing  something  over  three  pounds. 
The  boys  stood  with  wide-open  eyes  as  he  drew 
it  up  to  the  bank  and  landed  it  in  his  net. 

"Talk  about  luck!"  Jack  exclaimed,  in  a 
tone  of  disgust.  "If  you  should  fall  in  a  tar 
pit  you'd  come  out  with  a  clean  suit  on.  What 
you  going  to  do  with  that  fish?" 

"I'm  goin'  to  frame  it!"  replied  Jimmie, 
gravely. 

By  the  time  the  three  got  back  to  the  moor- 
ing place  Ned  was  there  with  the  rowboat  in 
place.  He  examined  the  fish  critically  and  ad- 
vised the  boy  to  catch  one  for  each  of  the  party, 
to  which  suggestion  Jimmie  struck  a  "never 
again"  attitude  and  nestled  down  in  a  sunny 
spot  on  the  bank. 

"There's  no  hurry,  is  there,  boys?"  asked 
Ned,  getting  out  his  own  rod.  "We  may  as 


110  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

well  have  enough  for  a  square  meal  while  we 
are  at  it.'7 

"Why  not  run  the  Black  Bbar  up  the  rapids 
a  little  ways  and  anchor  her  there?"  asked 
Jack.  "Then  we  might  all  fish  in  safety.  Of 
course,  Jimmie  can  jump  in  and  bring  his  fish 
out,  but  we  don't  want  to  do  that." 

Jimmie  grinned  and  lay  back  in  the  sun, 
while  the  boat  was  run  into  position  and  the 
lines  put  out.  It  was  a  long  time  before  any  one 
noted  a  nibble,  but  after  that  the  sport  was 
swifter,  and  a  large  basket  of  beauties  soon 
adorned  the  "bridge  deck"  of  the  Black  Bear, 
which  was  directly  over  the  engine. 

"If  the  man  who  serenaded  us  last  night 
will  kindly  send  in  his  card  now,"  Jack  re- 
marked as  the  fish,  done  to  a  tender  brown,  lay 
smoking  on  the  little  table  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Black  Bear,  "we'll  give  him  a  bite  out  of  our 
meal  ticket.  Say,"  he  continued,  as  the  boys 
looked  up  with  interest  in  their  faces,  "what 
do  you  think  of  that  stunt,  anyway  ?  Who  was 
that,  and  where  was  he  going  ?  He  must  have 
heard  the  shooting,  and  yet  he  cleared  out  so 
fast  we  couldn't  catch  him." 

"That  was  the  man  that  sent  back  the  Indian 
signal,"  Jimmie  replied. 

"He'd  have  needed  an  airship  to  get  from 
the  point  where  we  first  heard  him  making 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  Ill 

music  to  the  place  where  the  signals  were  in 
less  than  a  couple  of  hours,"  insisted  Frank. 

"We  wouldn't  know  what  to  do  with  our- 
selves if  we  wasn't  mixed  up  with  a  mystery," 
laughed  Harry.  "If  the  music  was  intended 
for  as  we'll  hear  it  again.  Sayx"  he  went  on, 
"where  did  that  big  rowboat  go  to?  It  never 
went  through  the  rapids,  and  it  didn't  pass  on 
upstream." 

"That  is  another  mystery,"  grinned  Jimniie. 
"Who's  goin'  to  stand  guard  tonight  an'  catch 
this  here  string  band  of  ours — no,  wind  band. 
Anyway,  who's  goin'  to  lay  awake  an'  grab 
him?" 

"If  you  boys  really  think  the  mystery  is 
worth  solving,"  Ned  said,  "we  may  as  well 
remain  here  tonight  and  keep  close  watch.  We 
are  not  far  from  human  habitations  now,  and 
if  we  should  catch  a  couple  of  river  thieves  we 
might  drop  them  at  the  first  stop  down  the 
river.  Besides,  I'm  a  little  anxious  to  know 
who  it  is  giving  us  so  much  attention." 

It  was  decided  to  adopt  this  suggestion.  A 
few  miles  below  they  would  come  to  the  line  of 
the  Great  Northern  railroad,  to  a  copper  min- 
ing country  and  to  two  small  towns.  If  they 
were  to  be  annoyed  by  thieves,  it  would  be  wise, 
they  thought,  to  have  the  battle  within  reach  of 
officers  of  the  law.  They  were  not  far  from  the 


112  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

boundary  line,  and  below  that  imaginary  divi- 
sion of  the  two  countries  was  Marcus,  where 
the  Great  Northern  crosed  the  Columbia  and 
entered  the  Kettle  riA^er  valley. 

The  Great  Northern  left  the  river  at  Marcus 
and  struck  it  again  some  distance  below  We- 
natchee,  many  miles  down.  The  north  side  of 
the  river  between  Marcus  and  Wenatchee  is, 
perhaps,  as  little  known  as  any  part  of  the 
Northwest.  There  are  mountains  and  forests 
and  deep  canyons  through  which  the  waters, 
hastening  onward  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  rush 
with  almost  incredible  speed.  The  lads  antici- 
pated a  rough  time  while  passing  through  this 
country,  and  thought  it  might  be  well  to  rid 
themselves  of  annoyances  in  the  way  of  thieves. 

This  point  decided,  they  lounged  about  all 
the  bright  afternoon,  fishing  now  and  then,  but 
mostly  reading  or  walking  delightedly  about. 
Frank  was  invited  to  bring  on  his  ghosts  that 
night,  and  Jack  generously  offered  to  put  any 
ruined  temple  the  boy  might  discover  into  his 
watch  pocket.  But  while  the  boys  were  wait- 
ing for  some  demonstration  from  their  ene- 
mies, they  were  also  concerned  not  a  little  with 
the  problems  of  the  music  and  the  Indian 
signals. 

"I'm  goin'  to  roost  in  a  tree  tonight"  Jim- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  113 

inie  asserted.  "I  want  to  hear  that  orchestra 
play  'On  the  Bowery'  once  more." 

"You'll  hear  no  more  flute  playing  like 
that, ' '  Frank  declared.  "  I  've  decided  that  the 
player  was  some  excursionist  on  the  Canadian 
Pacific  railroad — some  romantic  chap  who  pos- 
sibly left  the  train  at  Rossland  and  strayed  out 
in  the  forest.  I  '11  bet  a  fish  he  hit  only  the  high 
places  after  the  shooting  began." 

And  so  the  boys  laughed  and  talked  of  their 
adventures,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  until 
the  sun  went  down  and  the  light  of  the  moon 
lay  over  the  bewitching  scene.  They  kept  very 
still,  then,  listening  for  what  they  scarcely 
knew. 


114  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 


CHAPTER 

A  BOY  SCOUT  POSTOFPICE. 

Jack  and  Frank  sat  in  the  boat,  which  lay 
dark  on  the  water  only  a  few  feet  from  the 
bank,  while  Ned,  Harry  and  Jimmie  lay  con- 
cealed in  the  shadows  to  the  west.  In  the  still- 
ness of  the  night  they  heard  the  rumble  of  far- 
off  trains,  and  once  Harry  declared  that  he  saw 
the  light  of  a  boat  on  the  river  below  and  heard 
the  thud  of  an  oar. 

Just  as  the  boys  were  getting  sleepy  and  be- 
coming discouraged  as  to  tangible  results  the 
mellow  voice  of  a  flute  came  to  their  ears,  from 
the  west,  just  as  it  had  on  the  previous  evening. 
The  air  was  "The  Sweet  Refrain/'  a  favorite 
in  the  music  halls  of  the  East  Side  division  of 
New  York,  and  so  artistically  was  it  rendered 
that  the  boys  sat  in  silence  and  listened  until 
the  notes  died  away. 

"That  chap's  home  is  sure  east  of  the  Bow- 
ery," Jimmie  observed,  nudging  Harry,  who 
sat  next  to  him.  "What  do  you  make  of  it? 
What  is  he  followin'  us  down  the  river  for,  an' 
where  did  he  pick  us  up?" 

Before  Harry  could  find  a  suitable  reply  to 
these  puzzling  questions  the  music  began  again, 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  115 

seeming  to  grow  louder,  as  if  the  player  was 
approaching  the  camp.  Harry  gripped  Jim- 
mie's  arm  in  sudden  inspiration. 

"You  can  whistle  like  a  professional,  kid," 
he  said,  "strike  in  and  see  what  comes  of  it." 

The  boy  "struck  in,"  as  requested,  but  noth- 
ing came  of  it. 

"Wait  until  he  stops,"  Ned  suggested,  "and 
then  try  him." 

This  method  produced  results,  for  an  exact 
imitation  of  Jimmie's  effort  came  from  the 
thicket,  followed  by  a  laugh,  and  then  silence. 

The  boys  waited  at  least  half  an  hour,  imag- 
ining the  approach  of  the  strange  musician  in 
every  movement  of  the  forest,  but  nothing 
more  was  heard  from  him. 

"Have  you  your  searchlight?"  asked  Ned. 

"Sure!"  replied  Jimmie. 

"Then  we'll  go  in  and  see  what  we  can  learn 
there,"  Ned  went  on.  "The  fellow  couldn't 
have  been  more  than  a  hundred  yards  away." 

"He  was  up  on  that  point,"  declared  Harry. 
"I  half  believe  I  saw  his  eyes  shining  in  the 
moonlight.  Wait  a  minute!  I'll  get  my  light 
and  go  with  you." 

"Perhaps  you  would  better  remain  here  with 
the  boat,"  suggested  Ned.  "You  must  remem- 
ber that  this  is  a  party  given  for  the  benefit 
of  the  river  outlaws." 


116  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"All  right/'  Harry  said,  in  a  disappointed 
tone.  "I'll  go  aboard  and  cheer  Jack  and 
Frank  up  a  little." 

"Jack  an*  Frank  are  tellin'  each  other  lies 
about  that  ruined  temple,"  Jimmie  grinned. 
"They  do  like  to  roast  each  other  about  that." 

"I  don't  believe  Frank  thinks  there's  any- 
thing of  the  kind,"  said  Harry.  "He's  just 
talking  for  the  fun  of  it." 

"Well,  Akbar  and  Saxby  seem  to  believe  in 
the  tale,"  Ned  laughed,  "for  they  have  fol- 
lowed us  from  New  York.  We  ought  to  be 
hearing  from  them  directly." 

"Tell  you  what,"  Jimmie  said,  as  if  impart- 
ing a  great  secret,  "Jack  believes  in  that  ruined 
temple  story  himself!  He  just  roasts  Frank 
to  keep  the  argument  going.  I've  heard  him 
talk  about  the  old  book  that  was  stolen,  and 
I've  an  idea  he  used  to  study  it  an'  count  on 
coming  to  the  ruins  some  day." 

"He's  kept  pretty  still  about  it,"  laughed 
Ned. 

"Yes,  he  has,"  was  the  reply,  "because  he 
don't  want  to  be  laughed  at.  I  believe  he  knows 
the  exact  location  where  that  old  ruin  is  said  to 
be." 

"Ill  ask  him  about  it,"  said  Harry. 

"If  you  do  you  won't  get  a  civil  answer.  I 
can  tell  you  what  he  thinks  about  the  sitiia- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  117 

tion  of  the  place.  It's  on  the  north  side  of  the 
'Big  W, '  off  from  the  river  a  ways,  in  a  canyon 
between  two  rocky  ranges.  I  heard  him  talkin' 
about  the  'Big  W,'  an'  looked  it  up  on  the 
map.  The  river  along  there  is  full  of  falls  and 
rapids,  an'  there  ain't  no  landing  towns  for 
miles  on  the  north  side.  It  is  an  Indian  reser- 
vation, on  the  north,  an'  game  is  plenty  there, 
though  I  guess  the  country  is  mostly  barren 
mountains  an'  hills.  South  is  the  Spokane 
grain  country,  as  it  is  called." 

"  You've  been  dreaming,  too,  Jimmie,"  cried 
Harry.  "Go  along  and  solve  one  mystery  be- 
fore taking  up  another.  Go  on  with  Ned  and 
whistle  the  flute  soloist  into  camp." 

Harry  turned  toward  the  boat  and  Ned  and 
Jimmie  moved  into  the  forest  which  lifted 
from  the  rocky  landscape. 

"There's  the  elevation  where  Harry  saw 
something  shinin'  in  the  moonlight,"  Jimmie 
said,  after  a  short  tramp.  "We  might  go  up 
there  an'  see  if  he  left  any  tracks." 

Accordingly  the  boys  ascended  the  elevation 
and  looked  about.  The  moonlight  was  almost 
as  bright  as  that  of  the  sun,  and  the  boys 
dropped  down  on  the  ground  and  began  a  care- 
ful inspection  of  the  surface.  Presently  Jim- 
mie whispered: 

"Tracks  I" 


118  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Shoe  or  moccasin  ?"  asked  Ned. 

"Shoe,"  was  the  reply. 

Ned  moved  over  to  where  the  boy  lay,  his 
nose  within  two  inches  of  the  ground. 

'  '  Here, ' '  the  lad  said,  pointing.  ' '  He  walked 
off  that  way,  into  the  thicket." 

"There's  a  pretty  good  hiding  place  in 
there,"  Ned  remarked. 

The  boys  followed  the  tracks,  now  faint,  now 
distinct,  until  they  came  to  a  line  of  shrubs 
under  the  advance  guard  of  trees.  There  Ned 
stopped. 

"What  do  you  make  of  this*?"  he  asked, 
pointing. 

Jimmie  looked  down  and  gave  a  low  whistle, 
which  was  instantly  checked  when  Ned  seized 
him  by  the  arm. 

"More  Indian  signs,"  the  boy  whispered. 

"Boy  Scout  signs,"  corrected  Ned. 

"What  do  you  make  of  it?"  the  boy  asked, 
then. 

"A  Boy  Scout  of  the  Eagle  Patrol  has  been 
here,"  Ned  said,  reading  the  signs  scattered 
all  about.  "How  he  got  here,  or  why  he  came, 
is  more  than  I  know.  He  has  been  here,  how- 
ever, and  left  a  sort  of  postoffice  for  us." 

"Signs  in  the  grass,"  Jimmie  said.  "That 
means  'be  careful/  doesn't  it?" 

"Yes,  three  growing  sheafs  in  a  row,  tied 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  119 

together  at  the  top.  That  means  'take  warn- 
ing. '  Here 's  the  same  warning  in  twigs,  stones 
and  trees.  See,  here  are  three  holes  in  this  tree, 
three  white  spots  where  the  bark  is  cut  away, 
one  above  another.  That  means  'be  careful,' 
same  as  the  others." 

"I  guess  he  was  afraid  we'd  miss  one,"  said 
Jimmie. 

"And  here's  the  postoffice,"  Ned  went  on, 
taking  a  folded  sheet  of  paper  from  under  a 
log. 

Jimmie  opened  his  eyes  wide. 

"Got  a  letter?"  he  asked. 

"Can't  you  see  it?" 

"Well,  but " 

Ned  laughed. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  "you  see  this  oblotfg 
cut  in  the  tree  ?  Well,  now  observe  the  arrow 
pointing  to  the  right.  What  does  that  mean  ?" 

"I  guess  I  ain't  workin'  in  that  degree," 
Jimmie  admitted. 

"It  means  that  there  is  a  letter  hidden  three 
feet  away,  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the 
arrow.  See,  I  followed  the  sign  and  got  my 
letter." 

"Gee!"  cried  the  boy. 

Ned  unfolded  the  sheet  and  laughed. 

"What  does  it  say?"  asked  Jimmie. 

Ned  passed  the  sheet  over  to  the  boy  and 


120  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

waited  for  him  to  master  the  brief  contents, 
which  he  was  not  long  in  doing. 

' '  'Better  go  ~back  home/  Jimmie  read  aloud. 
"He's  got  his  nerve  with  him!" 

" Neglected  to  sign  his  name  in  full,"  Ned 
observed.  "Says  he's  a  member  of  the  Eagle 
Patrol,  and  stops  there." 

"Where  does  he  say  that?" 

"Note  the  feather  drawn  across  the  bottom? 
Well,  that's  it." 

"But  you  said  he  belonged  to  the  Eagle  Pa- 
trol before  you  saw  this,"  ventured  the  boy, 
puzzled  beyond  measure  by  the  queer  happen- 
ings of  the  night. 

Ned  pointed  to  a  feather  wound  in  the  warn- 
ing signal  in  grass. 

"  'Better  go  back  home!' '"  repeated  the  boy, 
in  tones  of  indignation.  "I  suppose  we've 
come  all  the  way  out  here  to  be  told  what  to  do 
by  a  kid  that's  afraid  to  show  his  face!" 

Ned  followed  the  footprints  into  the  forest 
a  few  paces  and  turned  back. 

"He'll  show  himself  when  he  wants  to  say 
anything  more,"  he  said. 

"Huh!"  Jimmie  sputtered.  "Why  didn't 
he  show  himself  tonight?" 

Ned  made  no  attempt  to  answer  this  perti- 
nent question.  He  was  sorely  puzzled  over 
the  messages  he  had  received.  What  was  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  121 

danger  against  which  they  were  warned  ?  Why 
should  they  turn  back  home  and  lose  a  per- 
fectly innocent  holiday?  Why  did  the  fellow 
who  had  warned  them  conceal  himself  from 
sight  when  almost  within  sound  of  their 
voices  ?  These  questions  and  a  dozen  more  of 
similar  import  raced  through  the  boy's  brain. 

"  ' Better  go  back  home!'  '  Jimmie  again 
muttered.  "I  suppose  this  marker  wants  to 
scare  us  away  from  something  good!" 

This  was  a  new  way  to  look  at  the  matter, 
and  Ned  asked. 

" Scare  us  away  from  what,  for  instance?" 

" Blessed  if  I  know!"  was  the  reply.  "I'm 
all  muddled  up.  This  is  a  great  country  for 
jarrin'  folks.  Here  I  got  scrambled  in  the 
boat  this  forenoon,  an'  now  I'm  so  muddled 
that  I  don't  know  which  way  is  straight  up. 
But  where  do  you  think  that  Eagle  Patrol 
feller  went?  I'll  bet  a  fish  feather  that  he's 
hidin'  around  here  now,  laughin'  at  us.  Here, 
you  chump!"  he  called  out,  facing  the  rising 
ground  in  the  forest,  "why  don't  you  come  out 
an'  show  yourself?" 

The  boys  listened  a  moment  for  a  response 
to  the  call,  but  there  was  only  the  flutter  of  a 
sleepy  bird  in  the  tree  under  which  ther  stood. 
Ned  decided  to  try  again. 

"We  got  your  letter!"  he  said. 


122  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

In  a  moment  the  music  came  again,  farther 
away  this  time,  and  Jimmie  sat  down  on  the 
ground  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  and  laughed. 
The  mysterious  musician  was  playing  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  probably  as  a  reminder  of  the 
brief  message  contained  in  the  letter ! 

"I'm  goin'  to  take  a  run  an'  jump  at  him!" 
Jimmie  cried,  after  he  had  had  his  laugh  out, 
and  after  the  notes  of  the  melody  had  died 
away. 

"No  use,"  Ned  advised.  "You  couldn't  fol- 
low him  long  in  there,  even  if  you  knew  which 
way  he  was  going." 

"  'Better  go  back  home!' "  Jimmie  grum- 
bled. "I  wish  I  had  him  by  the  neck!" 

Ned  walked  back  to  the  camp  in  a  brown 
study.  He  could  not  understand  this.  Why 
should  a  person  give  such  a  warning  and  still 
refuse  to  assign  any  reason  for  so  doing  ?  Why 
should  the  musician  follow  them  on  from  one 
point  on  the  river  to  another?'  How  was  he 
traveling?  Did  the  large  rowboat  belong  to 
him,  and  was  it  now  hidden  in  some  narrow 
creek,  waiting  to  move  when  they  passed 
down? 

The  boy  was  now  fully  convinced  that  the 
flute  player  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
men  who  had  attempted  the  capture  of  the 
boats.  Also  that  he  was  not  working  with  the 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  123 

two  villainous  ex-servants  of  the  Bosworth 
house.  The  fellow  might  be  following  them 
merely  as  a  joke,  or  he  might  be  hovering  about 
to  give  a  warning — in  which  case  Ned  thought 
he  ought  to  have  the  moral  courage  to  say 
what  he  had  to  say  face  to  face. 

"We'll  take  a  long  run  tomorrow,"  he  re- 
marked to  the  boys,  as  they  talked  the  matter 
over  after  his  return  to  the  boat,  "and  see  what 
this  mysterious  chap  does  about  that.  He'll 
have  to  go  some  if  he  keeps  up  with  us." 

"What's  the  odds  that  he  doesn't  perform 
before  us  on  his  flute  tomorrow  night  $"  Jack 
asked,  with  a  grin. 

"About  ten  to  one,"  ventured  Frank,  "but  it 
really  depends  on  how  far  we're  going.  Any- 
way, I'll  go  you  ten  to  one  that  he  doesn't 
show  up  tomorrow  night." 

"Ten  what  to  one?"  asked  Jimmie. 

"Oh,  anything,  except  money,"  smiled 
Frank.  '  *  I  don 't  gamble. ' ' 

"Ten  tricks  at  the  wheel,  then,"  suggested 
Jack. 

"You're  on!"  said  Frank,  and  the  boys 
gravely  shook  hands. 

"You've  got  your  work  cut  out  for  you," 
Jimmie  said,  glancing  at  Frank.  "Jack '11  be 
the  lazy  man  of  this  little  old  excursion  for  the 
next  month." 


124  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"How  far  tomorrow ?"  asked  Harry,  turn- 
ing to  Ned. 

"We  ought  to  stop  at  Marcus,"  was  the 
reply,  "and  fill  the  tanks  with  gasoline.  Then 
we  ought  to  get  around  Kettle  falls  and  cut 
loose  from  the  line  of  the  Great  Northern  rail- 
road. I'm  anxious  to  get  beyond  the  sound  of 
a  steam  whistle." 

"You  lose!"  Jimmie  exclaimed,  speaking  to 
Frank.  "You  lose  that  bet!  See  here,"  he 
added,  taking  out  a  map  and  turning  his 
searchlight  on  it.  "We're  only  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Sayward,  where  the  copper  mines 
are,  and  the  railroad  runs  through  there.  Now, 
this  funny  man  with  the  wind  instrument  can 
get  there  tonight,  take  an  early  train,  and  get 
to  Marcus  before  we  do.  He  can  watch  us  fill 
our  tanks  and  then  shoot  down  the  river  in  a 
skiff  so  as  to  toot-toot  to  us  at  night.  You  lose 
that  bet,  little  man!" 

"But  you're  supposing  that  this  funny  little 
man  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  us  and 
play  sweet  music  and  leave  letters  and  Indian 
signs  on  trees,"  Frank  said.  "The  bet  is  won 
right  now!" 

"That  is  just  exactly  the  way  I  dope  it  out," 
Jimmie  said.  "That  boy  is  with  us  for  keeps. 
I  don't  know  why,  but  he  is!" 

Harry  stood  guard  that  night.     His  four 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  125 

companions  occupied  their  hammocks  on  board 
the  Black  Bear,  although  Jimmie  was  deter- 
mined at  first  to  sleep  on  shore.  The  sentinel 
sat  on  the  prow  gazing  down  the  river  for  a 
long  time,  enjoying  the  beauty  of  the  scene. 
It  was  such  a  night,  there  in  the  great  North- 
west, as  the  city  dweller  rarely  sees.  The 
Columbia  river  lay  like  a  ribbon  of  undulating 
silver  in  the  soft  light  of  the  moon.  There  was 
a  whispering  in  the  trees,  and  one  might  well 
have  imagined  that  the  spirits  which  fable 
placed  in  the  mysterious  temple  were  abroad 
in  the  forest,  telling  in  whispers  of  their  joy 
of  the  moonlight. 

Harry's  vigil  passed  on  monotonously  until 
midnight,  and  then  he  heard  the  plash  of  an 
oar.  At  first  it  seemed  that  he  must  be  mis- 
taken, for  the  river  was  clear,  over  the  rapids 
above  and  down  the  shining  surface.  Then, 
from  a  tiny  creek,  unobserved  before,  he  saw 
the  unpainted  prow  of  a  boat  thrust  forth. 

Slowly  the  boat  revealed  itself  until  its 
Jength  lay  in  the  river,  the  bow  pointing  down- 
ward. There  seemed  to  be  two  men  in  the  boat, 
but  Harry  could  not  make  sure  that  there  were 
not  three.  At  least  there  were  two  pairs  of 
oars  at  work. 

Harry,  not  wishing  to  take  all  the  responsi- 
bility, shook  Ned  by  the  shoulder,  and  that 


126  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

young  man  was  almost  instantly  on  his  feet. 
Harry  pointed  down  toward  the  boat  and  did 
not  speak.  Ned  looked  thoughtful. 

The  men  in  the  boat  might  be  employes  of 
the  copper  mines  below,  or  they  might  be  fish- 
ermen, or  prospectors,  or  huntsmen,  but  if 
they  were,  the  boy  thought,  they  would  hardly 
leave  the  locality  without  inspecting  the  Black 
Bear.  Boats  of  her  build  were  not  common  in 
that  country,  and  curiosity  would  naturally 
lead  any  honest  visitors  to  inquiry  and 
inspection. 

The  boat,  held  by  the  oars,  remained  almost 
stationary  in  the  water  for  a  moment  and  then 
slowly  turned  and  started  up  stream  in  the 
direction  of  the  Black  Bear.  Ned  and  Harry 
crouched  down  and  remained  perfectly  quiet. 
The  rowboat  came  on  slowly,  and  three  men 
could  now  be  seen,  two  at  the  oars  and  one  at 
the  helm. 

The  boys  got  their  weapons  ready  and 
waited.  Much  to  their  surprise,  however,  the 
rowboat  made  a  wide  detour  and  passed  up 
stream,  leaving  a  space  half  the  width  of  the 
river  between  the  two  boats. 

"They've  got  their  nerve!"  Jimmie  whis- 
pered, as  the  distance  between  the  two  parties 
increased.  "Look!  Look!"  he  added,  clutch- 
ing at  Ned's  sleeve. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  127 

Ned's  eyes  were  already  fixed  on  the  face 
to  which  the  boy  was  calling  his  attention.  Up 
to  this  time  it  had  remained  concealed  under 
a  wide  hat  rim,  but  now  the  moonlight  struck 
it  fairly.  It  was  the  face  of  Akbar,  and  there 
was  a  look  of  triumph  on  the  dusky  features 
which  made  Jimmie's  fingers  tighten  into  the 
palms  of  his  hands. 

' '  The  sneak ! ' '  the  boy  whispered.  *  *  Suppose 
we  take  a  shot  at  him?" 

But  Ned  could  find  no  good  reason  for  doing 
this,  much  as  the  proposition  pleased  him.  The 
fellow  had  not  interfered  with  them  in  any 
way,  and,  surely,  the  river  was  open  to  all. 

The  boat  passed  on  up  stream,  with  Akbar 
observing  the  motor  boat  very  closely  as  he 
glided  by.  He  seemed  to  believe  the  boys  on 
board  to  be  asleep,  for  the  rowers  paused  at 
a  motion  of  his  haiid,  a  hundred  paces  up 
stream,  and  the  craft  began  to  drift  downward 
in  a  straight  line  with  the  Black  Bear. 

"Is  that  the  rowboat  we  saw  last  night?" 
whispered  Jimmie,  as  the  two  came  closer  to- 
gether. 

Ned  shook  his  head.  It  was  not  the  same 
boat,  and  this  was  an  additional  element  of 
uneasiness.  With  two  parties  sneaking  about, 
the  chances  for  a  troubled  voyage  down  the 
river  seemed  excellent — three  parties,  in  fact, 


128  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

for  there  was  the  mysterious  soloist  to  con- 
sider. 

"They're  goin'  to  board  us!"  Jimmie  cried 
out  in  a  moment,  in  a  tone  so  loud  that  it  must 
have  been  heard  on  the  other  boat. 

Ned  drew  the  boy  down,  half  angrily,  but 
the  mischief  had  been  done.  The  rowboat  shot 
away  down  stream.  Ned  pushed  the  lever 
which  brought  the  engine  stroke  up  to  the  first 
spark  and  took  the  wheel.  In  a  moment,  with 
a  snort  from  the  siren,  the  motor  boat  was  off 
in  pursuit.  The  other  boys  awoke  rubbing 
their  eyes. 

" What's  doing?"  demanded  Jack,  tumbling 
out  of  his  swaying  hammock.  "What  are  you 
trying  to  do  at  this  unholy  hourf " 

"We  have  met  the  enemy  an'  they — 
ducked!"  grinned  Jimmie. 

The  speedy  motor  boat  gained  fast  on  the 
other  for  a  time,  and  then  the  latter,  swinging 
off  to  one  side,  disappeared  in  the  mouth  of  a 
small  creek  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  When 
the  Black  Bear  came  to  the  tiny  opening  the 
other  boat  was  out  of  sight,  and  Ned  uttered 
a  sigh  of  disappointment. 

"Go  on  in  after  them!"  advised  Jack. 

"An'  get  grounded,  an'  also  get  our  blocks 
knocked  off  by  pirates  hidin'  behind  trees!" 
said  Jimmie. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  129 

Ned's  inclination  was  to  follow  Jack's  advice, 
but  he  knew  that  Jimmie's  idea  was  the  safest. 
They  would  stand  no  show  at  all  in  a  fight  in  the 
thicket,  and,  besides,  there  really  was  nothing 
to  fight  about ! 

Sorely  disappointed  at  the  outcome  of  the 
adventure,  Ned  turned  the  prow  of  the  Black 
Bear  down  stream,  and  the  light  of  morning 
found  them  over  the  boundary  line,  at  Marcus, 
where  they  procured  more  gasoline.  The  dan- 
gerous Kettle  falls  were  passed  that  afternoon, 
and  night  found  the  boys  miles  away  from  any 
railroad  line,  far  distant  from  any  habitation 
or  town.  The  wilds  of  the  Columbia  were  open 
to  them  at  last. 

"Now,"  Jack  said,  as  they  prepared  for 
sleep,  "I'm  going  to  stand  guard  tonight  and 
make  sure  that  I  win  that  bet  of  Frank.  We're 
a  hundred  miles  from  last  night's  camp,  but 
I'll  bet  a  cooky  that  we  hear  the  flute  soloist 
before  morning." 


130  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LIGHTS  IN  THE  SKY. 

It  was  another  brilliant  night,  and  Ned  re- 
mained with  Jack  until  midnight,  not  a  little 
curious  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  wager. 

"If  he  does  come  tonight,"  the  boy  said,  "I 
shall  think  he  is  making  a  business  of  follow- 
ing us.  Our  previous  camping  places  were  not 
far  apart,  and  so  his  showing  up  on  both  eve- 
nings may  have  been  merely  a  matter  of  cir- 
cumstance, but  if  he  comes  down  here  it  will 
show  me  that  he  is  interested  in  us  in  some 
way." 

"I've  got  a  hunch  that  he'll  come,"  Jack 
said. 

"But  why— why " 

The  sentence  was  never  finished,  for  just 
then  came  the  soft  voice  of  the  flute,  flowing 
through  the  moonlight  from  no  special  loca- 
tion, seemingly,  but  pervading  the  scene  with 
its  melody. 

"That  gets  me!"  Jack  cried. 

Frank  stirred  uneasily  in  his  sleep  and  Jim- 
mie,  who  was  still  wide  awake,  gave  him  a  jab 
in  the  ribs. 

"Wake  up  an*  pay  your  bet!"  he  cried. 
"Here's  the  bogey  man !" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  13] 

"All  right!"  Frank  grumbled.  "I'll  pay! 
Say,  if  you  fellows  will  go  out  there  and  catch 
him  I'll  give  you  the  largest  spread  we  can  get 
at  Sherry's  when  we  go  back  to  New  York." 

The  music  stopped  directly,  and  then  Jimmie 
launched  into  a  whistle  which  seemed  almost 
an  echo  of  the  other's  performance.  Almost 
immediately  he  was  joined  by  the  soloist,  and 
the  air  was  finished  together. 

Jimmie  looked  puzzled.  His  face  was  turned 
toward  the  spot  from  which  the  sounds  had 
apparently  come,  with  a  wonder  in  his  eyes. 

"I've  heard  that  gink  somewhere,"  he  said, 
presently.  "I've  heard  that  song  performed 
in  just  that  way  before.  I  believe  I'd  know 
that  flute  man  if  I  could  only  get  my  lamps  on 
him." 

"Jimmie,"  said  Frank,  nudging  Harry, 
"you  are  getting  so  you  can't  open  your  mouth 
without  dropping  out  a  lot  of  slang.  If  you 
don't  quit  it  we'll  have  to  pass  you  up.  Un- 
derstand? We  don't  stand  for  this  rough 
Bowery  lingo,  this  East  Side  patter.  What?" 

"I  guess  wou  can  go  some  yourself,"  grinned 
Jimmie.  "I'd  give  two  stories  off  the  first 
sky-scraper  I  own,  though,  to  be  able  to  size  up 
that  gink  with  the  flute." 

"Well,  go  on  ashcre  and  talk  with  Mm," 
urged  Jack. 


132  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

The  boy  looked  at  Ned,  as  if  asking  permis- 
sion to  do  so. 

"It  might  be  a  good  idea/'  Ned  said. 

Jimmie  was  off  the  Black  Bear  in  a  minute, 
splashing  through  the  shallow  water  at  the 
margin  because  he  would  not  wait  for  the  row- 
boat  and  also  because  he  did  not  jump  quite  far 
enough.  He  was  gone  half  an  hour.  When  he 
returned  his  face  looked  more  discouraged  than 
before. 

"Find  him?"  asked  Jack. 

"Nix,"  replied  the  boy,  with  a  shake  of  the 
head.  "There's  not  a  trace  of  him  in  there. 
How  did  he  get  here,  anyway?" 

"That's  what  gets  us  all,"  Ned  replied.  "He 
hasn't  got  a  motor  boat,  for  we  could  hear  the 
engine  popping  if  he  had,  and  he  never  could 
have  rowed  or  floated  here  in  the  time  we  have 
made.  He  must  have  an  airship ! ' ' 

' ' That 's  no  joke ! ' '  Frank  replied.  ' '  Honest 
and  true,  I  believe  he  has!" 

"Then  why  haven't  we  seen  it,  or  heard  some 
of  the  people  at  the  towns  we  have  passed  talk- 
ing about  it?  An  airship  up  here  would  at- 
tract more  attention  than  a  white  elephant  with 
red  wings." 

"Anyway,  if  he  has  an  airship,"  protested 
Jack,  "what's  he  chasing  us  up  for?  Do  you 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  133 

really  think  you've  heard  that  whistle  before, 
Jimmie  ?" 

"Sure  I  do,"  was  the  reply. 

" Think  hard  I"  laughed  Frank. 

"Was  it  on  the  East  Side?"  asked  Harry. 

Jimmie  turned  his  back  on  the  group  and 
climbed  into  his  hammock. 

"I  hope  he'll  come  back  an'  sweep  some  of 
the  bees  out  of  your  garrets,"  he  said,  as  he 
composed  himself  to  slumber. 

"It's  a  fright  the  way  that  boy  talks  slang," 
laughed  Frank. 

Jimmie  only  grunted,  he  was  already  half 
asleep,  and  through  the  shadowy  dreams  which 
came  later  on  he  seemed  to  hear  that  air  again, 
and  to  see  the  face  and  figure  of  the  performer. 
But,  somehow,  whenever,  in  these  dreams,  he 
endeavored  to  get  close  enough  to  identify  the 
other  a  cloud  came  between  them,  and  he  awoke 
with  a  start  only  to  sleep  and  dream  again. 

The  remainder  of  the  watch  that  night  was 
uneventful.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of  the 
mysterious  musician.  In  the  morning  the 
shore  was  searched  for  some  sign  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  stranger,  but  nothing  was  found. 

"He  might  have  left  us  another  letter," 
Harry  said. 

"With  his  old  'Better  go  home'  in  it,  I  sup- 
pose," scorned  Jimmie. 


134  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOE  BOAT 

" Anything  at  all!" 

"It  seems  that  he  left  nothing,"  Ned  decided, 
reluctantly,  as  he  returned  to  the  Black  Bear. 
"Not  even  the  print  of  a  shoe !" 

"I  told  you  he  was  up  in  the  air!"  Frank 
declared.  "That  music  never  came  from  the 
ground." 

The  boys  set  out  on  their  journey  early  in 
the  forenoon.  For  two  golden  weeks  they  loi- 
tered along  the  magnificent  river.  Now  they 
camped  beside  a  swift  stream  which  poured 
through  a  rocky  canyon.  Now  they  slept  in  the 
boat,  rocked  in  the  hammocks,  and  looking  out 
upon  quiet  pools  where  birds  came  to  bathe  in 
the  morning,  and  where  silvery  fishes  leaped  up 
to  meet  the  sunshine.  Now  they  passed  moun- 
tain spurs  which  crowded  hard  upon  the  valley 
of  the  stream,  now  they  came  to  great  dark 
forests  where  game  abounded. 

Many  a  night  they  built  roaring  fires  on  some 
rocky  "bench"  by  the  shore  and  slept  beside 
them.  Many  a  morning  found  them  miles  from 
camp,  climbing,  hunting,  loitering,  always 
filled  with  the  wonder  of  the  great  Northwest. 

Oh,  those  days  and  nights  on  the  Columbia ! 
They  were  to  remember  them  all  their  lives. 
It  was  June,  and  the  perfume  of  the  time  was 
over  everything.  It  was  vacation,  and  the 
elixir  of  youth  was  in  their  veins. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVEE.  135 

One  afternoon  Jack  shot  a  deer,  which  he 
ought  not  to  have  done  at  that  time  of  the  year, 
and  proposed  a  venison  stew  for  supper.  But 
when  the  meal  was  ready  he  turned  away  from 
the  table. 

"I  can  see  his  eyes  looking  at  me  out  of  the 
bowl,"  he  said. 

"I'm  glad  of  that!"  Ned  said,  heartily. 

The  stew  was  thrown  out  untasted.  The 
boys  were  well  versed  in  the  lore  of  the  Boy 
Scouts,  which  teaches  that  all  wild  creatures, 
except  when  actually  needed  for  food,  should 
be  given  the  right  to  live.  And,  on  another 
afternoon,  a  black  bear  came  smelling  cau- 
tiously about  the  camp.  He  was  not  a  rery 
ferocious  looking  creature,  and  Jimmie  went 
out  and  tried  to  bribe  him  into  companionship 
with  a  handful  of  loaf  sugar. 

"There's  three  Black  Bears  here  now,"  Jim- 
mie explained  to  the  suspicious  animal,  "and 
you'll  be  the  boss  of  the  bunch  if  you  come  with 
us." 

But  bruin  did  not  appear  to  like  the  looks 
of  things,  and  the  last  the  boys  saw  of  him  he 
was  shambling  off  through  the  bushes  with  a 
grunt  not  unlike  that  with  which  a  hog  ex- 
presses disbelief  in  representations  made. 

The  boats  behaved  admirably,  and  the  drift- 
ing economized  the  gasoline  so  that  the  supply 


136  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

taken  on  at  Marcus  would  last  for  a  month. 
They  had  plenty  of  tinned  foods,  and  the  river 
itself  and  the  little  creeks  which  emptied  into 
it  literally  swarmed  with  fish,  so  the  lads  lived 
like  epicures. 

During  all  this  time  they  had  heard  nothing 
of  the  mysterious  soloist,  and  the  river  men 
who  had  been  seen  in  the  rowboats  were  well 
nigh  forgotten.  Ned  at  times  had  a  subcon- 
scious impression  that  the  East  Indian  and 
Saxby  would  be  heard  from  in  due  season,  but 
he  did  not  permit  himself  to  worry  over  the 
matter. 

At  the  end  of  the  two  weeks  they  came  to 
Spokane  rapids,  and  knew  that  they  were  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Spokane  river,  with  Metre 
rapids  just  below  the  junction.  They  remained 
here  for  a  few  days,  making  friends  with  peo- 
ple who  passed  them  on  the  river,  and  pre- 
paring for  the  long  stretch  between  that  point 
and  Wenatchee. 

On  the  second  day  Ned  and  Frank,  lying  in 
comfort  on  the  Black  Bear,  the  "roof"  of 
which  was  usually  turned  back  on  the  steel 
supports,  unless  there  was  rain,  saw  a  shadow 
pass  over  the  water  and  looked  quickly  up,  for 
there  were  no  clouds  in  the  sky,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  shadow  seemed  unaccountable. 
'In  a  second  Frank  gave  a  shout. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  137 

" There's  the  airship!"  he  said. 

"Looks  like  it,"  Ned  admitted. 

"But  I  mean  our  airship!"  Frank  con- 
tinued. 

"Didn't  know  we  had  one,"  replied  Ned. 
"When  are  you  going  to  take  possession  of 
it?" 

"Why,"  Frank  answered,  "that's  the  air- 
ship we've  been  looking  for!  The  one  our 
soloist  travels  in!" 

Ned  laughed  and  turned  away. 

"Strange  we  never  caught  sight  of  him  be- 
fore, then,"  he  said. 

The  airship  sailed  over  the  Black  Bear,  and 
seemed  for  an  instant  to  hover  there,  then 
passed  on  toward  Spokane.  But  as  the  great 
planes  grew  smaller  in  the  distance  the  clear 
notes  of  a  fife  came  down  with  the  sunshine! 

"There's  your  old  bandwagon!"  Frank 
laughed.  "There's  the  ship  the  soloist  has 
been  traveling  in !  Now,  I  want  to  know  what 
he  means  by  it.  He  must  be  on  a  vacation, 
too,  riding  in  an  aeroplane  instead  of  a  motor 
boat." 

Ned  was  thinking  along  the  same  line,  but 
was  asking  himself  the  question  as  to  where  the 
soloist  had  put  in  the  time  during  the  two 
weeks  they  had  been  sauntering  down  to 
Spokane  Junction. 


138  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"If  he's  keeping  watch  over  us,"  he  said, 
with  a  smile,  "he's  been  oft  duty  for  about 
fourteen  days." 

"Well,  he  seems  to  be  on  the  job  now,  all 
right,"  Frank  said. 

"I  think,"  Ned  answered,  thoughtfully, 
that  I  ought  to  run  up  to  Spokane  and  see  who 
that  young  man  is.  If  he  lands  there  with  his 
aeroplane,  everybody  in  the  valley  will  know 
all  about  him  in  no  time,  and  he  certainly  must 
land  somewhere  to  get  gasoline  for  his  motor." 

"Suppose  we  run  up  in  the  Black  Bear?" 

Ned  laughed  and  took  out  a  pocket  map. 

"We  are  now  about  one  hundred  miles  from 
Spokane,"  he  said,  looking  the  map  over,  "and 
in  that  distance  the  river  has  a  fall  of  about 
twelve  hundred  feet,  or  an  average  of  twelve 
feet  to  the  mile.  I  guess  we  won't  try  to  go  up 
there  in  the  boat." 

"But  we  might  make  it,"  urged  Frank. 
"You  know  we  made  the  river  from  Nelson  to 
the  Columbia,  around  Upper  and  Lower  Ben- 
nington  falls.  The  maps  do  not  show  that 
there  is  any  boat  route  along  that  river." 

"We  had  only  a  short  distance  to  go  there," 
Ned  replied,  "and,  besides,  we  were  rather 
enjoying  the  novelty  of  taking  our  new  boat  to 
pieces  and  putting  it  together  again.  I  think 
we've  had  enough  of  that" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEE.  139 

"Then  how  are  you  going  to  get  to 
Spokane?" 

"We  have  plenty  of  time,  and  I  thought  we 
might  work  up  as  far  as  possible  without  too 
much  carrying,  and  then  go  on  in  a  canoe." 

The  boys  studied  over  the  situation  for  a 
long  time,  and  Frank  was  anxious  to  visit 
Spokane,  so  he  encouraged  the  expressed  idea, 
but  Ned  finally  decided  to  go  on  down  the  river 
and  let  the  soloist  take  his  own  time  about  mak- 
ing himself  known. 

"He'll  be  sure  to  do  it,"  Jimmie  said,  when 
the  case  was  stated  to  the  other  boys  on  their 
return  to  camp.  "I  believe  he's  here  to  keep 
a  kind  of  watch  over  us!" 

"I  guess  we  don't  need  any  chaperon," 
grunted  Jack. 

"Well,  he's  here  to  make  friends  with  us 
before  we  leave  the  country,"  insisted  the  little 
fellow.  "I've  heard  that  whistle  in  little  old 
New  York,  and  I  know  it.  There  is  an  Eagle 
Patrol  there,  you  know,  and  this  chap  comes 
from  that." 

"Perhaps  he's  after  the  ruined  temple!" 
said  Jack,  nudging  Frank. 

Frank  grinned,  but  made  no  reply,  and 
Jimmie  grinned,  too,  because  he  knew  that 
Jack,  in  spite  of  his  jokes  about  it,  believed  as 


140  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

thoroughly  in  the  story  of  the  early  trip  of  the 
East  Indians  as  Frank  pretended  to. 

So  the  prow  of  the  motor  boat  was  turned 
down  stream  the  next  morning.  From  this 
point  on  the  boys  were  fronted  by  new  condi- 
tions. Nearly  all  the  way  from  Nelson,  B.  C.T 
to  Marcus,  Wash.,  they  had  been  within  sound 
of  a  locomotive  whistle.  From  Marcus  to  the 
Spokane  river  they  had  passed  through  a  val- 
ley which  is  sure  to  become  a  great  orchard  and 
grain  producer  in  time. 

This,  however,  is  probably  true  only  of  the 
valley  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  Between 
the  Columbia  and  the  Huckleberry  mountains 
the  land  is  fertile  and  irrigation  is  easily 
brought  about  where  needed.  To  the  west  of 
the  river  lies  the  Colville  Indian  reservation. 

The  valley  here  is  much  narrower  than  on 
the  east  side  of  the  stream,  and  there  are  very 
few  towns  on  that  side.  In  the  interior  are 
some  mines,  and  the  railroads  are  pointing 
northward.  Few  streams  rush  down  from  the 
highland  to  the  Columbia,  and  the  forests  of 
larch,  spruce  and  cedar  are  thick  and  hard  to 
penetrate. 

Below  Spokane  junction  the  Columbia  val- 
ley, on  the  south,  is  known  as  a  part  of  the 
great  Spokane  grain  and  orchard  belt.  The 
general  course  of  the  stream  is  west,  though  it 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  HI 

flows  at  times  to  il1  points  of  the  compass.  At 
the  foot  of  the  Buckhorn  mountains,  something 
over  two  hundred  miles  from  the  Spokane,  it 
turns  south  again  and  waters  the  Wenatchee 
country. 

But  while  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,  on  the 
south,  possesses  great  possibilities  for  the 
future,  that  on  the  north  is  wild  and  rugged, 
broken  with  mountains  and  not  at  present  suit- 
able for  crop  growing.  There  are  numerous 
towns  along  the  river,  on  the  south  side, 
between  the  Spokane  and  the  Buckhorn 
mountains,  but  none  on  the  north. 

The  Columbia  takes  a  long  drop  from  the 
interior  plateau  in  this  stretch,  and  is  there- 
fore turbulent  and  wayward.  The  maps  show 
a  dozen  important  falls  and  rapids  between 
the  Spokane  and  the  Buckhorns,  but  the  boys 
found  more  than  that.  The  Black  Bear  was 
taken  to  pieces  several  times,  but  the  boys  did 
not  grumble  over  the  delays  or  the  portages. 

In  fact,  the  party  loitered  along,  just  about 
as  it  had  done  above  the  Spokane.  The  boat 
was  three  weeks  in  making  the  first  hundred 
miles.  The  lads  fished  and  tramped  over  the 
hills  and  slept  in  the  sun.  The  daily  temper- 
ature stood  at  about  70  degrees,  and  there  were 
few  rainy  days,  the  average  of  -sunny  days  in 
that  country  being  twenty-two  to  the  month. 


148  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

One  evening,  an  hour  or  more  after  they 
had  passed  a  little  settlement  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  known  as  Alameda,  they  drew  the 
Black  Bear  up  the  north  bank  at  the  head  of 
a  long  run  of  rapids  which  would  necessitate 
the  taking  of  the  boat  to  pieces  before  continu- 
ing the  journey. 

Jimmie  sighed  at  the  prospect  ahead. 

"If  it  wasn't  for  that  old  engine,"  he 
growled,  "I  could  carry  the  boat  around  the 
bloomin'  falls  alone!  If  that  aeroplane  fellow 
is  ever  comin'  I  wish  he'd  drop  down  now  an' 
lift  this  Black  Bear  down  the  river  a  few 
miles." 

"We've  lost  the  soloist!"  Frank  declared. 

"No,  sir,"  Jimmie  insisted.  "He'll  come  an' 
shake  hands  before  he  leaves  the  country.  I'll 
bet  he's  been  folio  win'  us  right  along." 

"We  should  have  seen  him,"  Frank  sug- 
gested. 

"You  ask  Ned,"  the  boy  cried,  "if  they  don't 
paint  aeroplanes  so  they  can't  be  seen  at  4,000 
feet,  even  on  a  clear  day!" 

Frank  grinned  at  the  enthusiasm  of  the  little 
lad  and  turned  to  Ned  for  an  explanation. 

"I  have  heard  that  they  do,"  Ned  replied. 
"They  have  a  gray  aeroplane  paint  which 
makes  the  planes  invisible  at  4,000  feet  or 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  143 

more.  The  army  people  invented  that  sort  of 
disguise." 

"But  the  paint  wouldn't  make  the  motors 
run  still,"  Frank  insisted.  "We  could  have 
heard  motors,  anyway,  if  this  airship  had  been 
about." 

"Got  you  again!"  Jimmie  shouted.  "The 
army  people  have  invented  an  aluminum  motor 
which  runs  without  noise.  You  wait  until  we 
get  into  a  war,  and  you'll  have  bombs  fallin* 
out  of  ships  that  look  just  like  the  blue  sky!" 

"All  right,"  Prank  replied,  rather  crossly, 
"111  take  your  word  for  it.  But  I  don't  ex- 
pect to  meet  this  mysterious  stranger,  just  the 
same." 

After  supper  Frank,  Jack  and  Harry  went 
to  bed  early  in  a  great  bed  of  spruce  boughs 
which  they  had  collected  and  covered  with 
blankets,  leaving  Ned  and  Jimmie  sitting  alone 
by  the  embers  of  the  fire.  It  was  now  middle 
July,  and  rather  hot  for  that  district.  There 
was  a  slice  of  a  moon  low  in  the  west,  but  there 
would  be  only  the  stars  after  eleven  o'clock. 

Sitting  there  in  the  dim  light  the  boys  heard 
deer  and  other  wild  creatures  come  down  to 
the  river  to  drink.  A  line  of  hills  on  the  south 
side  showed  clear  and  white  under  the  light 
of  the  moon,  and  the  din  of  the  rapids  came  up 
like  a  slow,  monotonous  song. 


144  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"It  beats  the  Great  White  Way,"  Ned  said, 
drawing  a  long  breath.  "It  beats  anything 
in  the  world!" 

"YouVe  got  it  right,"  declared  Jimmie. 
"Do  you  hear  the  music  in  the  falls?" 

"In  the  falls?"  repeated  Ned.    "Listen!" 

"That's  our  fife  player!"  cried  the  little 
fellow,  "and  there,  over  the  hills  on  the  other 
bank,  are  the  lights  of  an  aeroplane." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  115 

CHAPTER  X. 

AN  EAGLE  TO  THE  EESCUE. 

It  was  true  enough ! 

The  lights  over  the  hills  on  the  south  bank 
could  be  nothing  else.  They  lifted  and  low- 
ered, darting  hither  and  thither  like  fireflies 
sporting  in  the  night. 

"Do  you  think  the  music  comes  from 
there?"  asked  Jimmie. 

"It  certainly  does." 

"But  that  is  a  long  way  off." 

"Yes,  but  there  are  no  obstructions  in  the 
air  between  us  and  the  aeroplane,"  said  Ned. 
"And  the  wind  is  blowing  from  that  direction, 
what  little  there  is." 

The  aeroplane  seemed  to  lower  as  it 
approached.  Presently  its  great  planes  could 
be  seen  quite  plainly,  even  in  the  uncertain 
light. 

"He's  comin'  here!"  Jimmie  cried,  dancing 
about.  "I  knew  he'd  be  neighborly  an*  make 
a  call!" 

The  music  stopped  in  a  moment,  but  the  air- 
ship came  on,  sweeping  close  to  the  water  of 
the  river  when  it  came  to  it.  Then  it  soared 
aloft  again,  noiselessly,  almost. 


146  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Come  again;  Gone  again!"  laughed 
Jimmie. 

The  aeroplane  turned  to  the  west  and  pro- 
seeded  in  the  direction  of  the  Buckhorn  moun- 
tains, and  was  soon  lost  to  sight.  Jimmie  fol- 
lowed it  with  his  eyes  as  long  as  possible  and 
then  threw  himself  down  with  a  sign  of  disap- 
pointment. He  had  hoped  much  from  the 
appearance  of  the  great  plane. 

"Better  go  home!"  he  said,  whimsically, 
repeating  the  language  of  the  letter.  "We 
don't  care  about  your  company,  anyway!" 

Ned  made  no  reply.  His  thoughts  were  on 
the  possibility  of  his  ever  discovering  the 
motive  for  the  strange  conduct  of  the  person 
in  the  aeroplane. 

Jimmie  arose,  after  a  short  time,  and  strolled 
off  into  the  straggling  forest.  The  valley  of 
the  Columbia  is  very  narrow,  on  the  north,  at 
the  point  where  the  boys  encamped,  the  hills 
with  their  scanty  covering  of  trees  coming 
close  to  the  water's  edge,  so  the  boy  did  not 
walk  very  far  before  stopping  at  a  little  eleva- 
tion in  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

Ned  saw  him  standing  there,  looking  back, 
and  for  a  moment  paid  no  further  attention  to 
him.  But  there  was  an  indefinable  something 
pulling  at  the  back  of  the  boy's  brain  which 
gaye  a  sense  of  peril,  and  he  arose  to  his  feet 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  147 

and  looked  forward  to  the  spot  where  he  had 
last  seen  the  boy. 

Jimmie  was  not  there,  and  Ned  stepped 
along  to  look  for  him.  When  he  came  to  the 
foot  of  the  elevation  he  saw  the  lad  lying,  face 
down,  on  the  ground. 

' '  Jimmie ! "  he  cried.  ' 1  What 's  the  trouble  ? 
Get  up!" 

The  boy  did  not  move,  and  Ned  bent  down 
over  him.  As  he  did  so  a  bullet  sang  past  his 
ear,  and  the  next  instant  the  report  of  a  re- 
volver cut  the  air.  It  was  dim  in  the  forest, 
even  though  the  trees  were  not  thick,  and  Ned 
could  see  no  indications  of  the  person  who  had 
fired  the  shot 

He,  however,  was  standing  in  the  moonlight, 
in  plain  view  of  the  attacking  party,  and  he 
knew  that  his  only  hope  of  safety  lay  in  get- 
ting back  to  the  boat. 

There  was  a  space  under  the  bank,  when  the 
river  was  not  up,  which  would  serve  as  a  pro- 
tection if  he  could  only  get  to  it.  But  he  could 
not  leave  Jimmie  there  to  be  slaughtered,  if  he 
were  not  already  dead. 

How  the  boy  had  been  injured  he  did  not 
know,  and  there  was  no  time  in  which  to  set- 
tle the  point.  There  had  been  no  shooting, 
however,  so,  Ned  reasoned,  he  must  have  been 


148  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

struck  down  by  some  one  wielding  a  club  or 
hurling  stones. 

This  conclusion  meant,  if  correct,  that  the 
person  who  had  attacked  the  boy  must  have 
been  close  at  hand — might  at  that  moment  be 
lurking  within  a  yard  of  the  spot — although 
the  shot  had  come  from  a  distance,  as  Ned 
knew  by  hearing  the  hum  of  the  bullet  before 
the  sound  of  the  explosion  reached  his  ears.  He 
dropped  to  his  knees  and  lifted  the  senseless 
little  chap  in  his  arms. 

"Jimmie!"  he  called,  softly. 

There  was  no  answer,  and  the  boy's  head 
rolled  limply  in  Ned's  arm. 

While  Ned  crouched  there  the  noise  of  the 
breaking  of  a  twig  not  far  off  came  to  his  ears 
with  the  distinctness,  almost,  of  a  pistol  shot. 

Smiling,  even  at  that  trying  time,  at  the 
thought  of  permitting  his  nerves  to  race  away 
in  that  manner,  Ned  drew  his  automatic  and 
listened. 

Some  one  was  advancing  upon  him.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  of  that.  The  footsteps  came 
on  slowly,  cautiously.  Wondering  why,  and 
trying  to  find  a  reason  for  it,  Ned's  brain  acted 
quickly,  and  he  saw  that  the  intruder  doubtless 
believed  that  he  had  killed  his  opponent,  or 
seriously  wounded  him,  with  that  one  shot. 

The  fellow  was  so  near  now  that  Ned  did  not 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  149 

dare  rise  to  his  feet.  Such  a  step,  he  believed, 
would  lead  to  instant  destruction. 

Alone  and  unencumbered,  he  might  have 
crept  away  a  few  paces  and  made  a  dash  for 
the  shore,  but  with  Jimmie  lying  helpless  in  his 
arms  this  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  He  must 
find  some  other  way. 

It  seemed  to  Ned  that  the  shot  must  have 
awakened  the  sleeping  boys.  Then  he  remem- 
bered that  shooting  had  been  so  common  a 
thing  about  the  camps  that  the  boys,  even  if 
awakened,  would  not  be  apt  to  take  alarm. 

Directly  the  man  who  was  advancing  upon 
him  came  to  a  point  where  his  figure  was 
sharply  outlined  against  a  piece  of  sky  which 
the  moon  was  painting  with  light.  It  was  a 
heavy,  ungainly  figure,  but  unquestionably  the 
figure  of  a  strong  man. 

The  face,  what  the  boy  could  see  of  it,  was 
heavy,  nearly  covered  with  a  growth  of 
untrimmed  whiskers,  and  repulsive  in  the 
extreme.  Ned  could  not  find  the  heart  to  shoot 
the  fellow  down  without  warning,  though  the 
shot  just  fired  revealed  the  vicious  spirit  of 
the  man. 

When  the  man  came  within  striking  dis- 
tance Ned  arose  to  his  feet,  his  automatic  lev- 
eled at  the  evil  eyes  which  looked  out  of  the 
tangle  of  hair  on  the  repulsive  face. 


150  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Stop!"  he  cried.    "Up  with  jour  hands!" 

With  a  grunt  like  that  of  a  wild  beast  the 
fellow  obeyed. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  asked  the  boy 
then. 

The  repiy  came  in  words  which  Ned  did  not 
understand. 

Then  the  situation  grew  a  new  peril  for  the 
boy,  for  some  clumsy  object  came  whirling  out 
of  the  darkness  and  struck  him  on  the  right 
shoulder.  The  automatic  dropped  to  the  ground 
and  the  man  who  had  been  threatened  with  it 
sprang  forward. 

Then  came  a  second  interruption  in  the  form 
of  a  pistol  shot  from  the  camp.  The  sleepers 
were  up  and  doing ! 

The  burly  figure  in  front  of  Ned  staggered 
for  an  instant,  then  turned  and  ran.  The  three 
boys  surged  forward,  but  Ned  called  to  them 
to  get  back  to  the  Black  Bear  and  put  up  the 
panels. 

Three  shots  now  came  from  the  line  of  trees, 
but  the  bullets  went  wide  of  their  mark,  and 
Ned  lifted  the  body  of  Jimmie  and  started  to* 
ward  the  shore. 

There  now  seemed  to  be  half  a  dozen  men  in 
the  attacking  party,  and  all  were  evidently 
well  armed,  for  the  shots  came  fast.  A  bullet 
clipped  a  lock  of  hair  from  Jimmie 's  head  as 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEX.  151 

he  was  carried  along,  and  Ned  felt  a  sharp 
sting  in  his  wounded  shoulder. 

In  a  moment  two  of  the  boys  turned  back 
from  the  boat,  leaving  Harry  to  put  up  the  pan- 
els, and  began  firing  in  the  direction  of  the 
spiteful  bursts  of  fire  they  saw  under  the  trees. 

The  attacking  party  seemed  to  be  falling 
back;  reports  now  came  from  a  greater  dis- 
tance, and  the  firing  soon  ceased  entirely. 

Fearful  that  the  silence  was  deceptive,  the 
boys  crouched  under  the  river  bank  and  waited 
while  Harry  and  Frank  made  a  closed,  almost 
bullet-proof,  room  of  the  interior  of  the  Black 
Bear  by  putting  up  the  panels. 

These  panels  were  of  thin  wooden  slices, 
crossed  in  grain,  but  in  the  center  of  each  was 
a  thin  steel  plate.  At  a  reasonable  distance 
those  on  the  inside  would  be  fully  protected 
from  bullets  of  an  ordinary  size  fired  from  the 
outside. 

At  last  all  the  panels  were  in  place  and  Jim- 
mie  was  carried  on  board.  He  moved  his  right 
hand  as  he  was  laid  down  and  motioned  toward 
his  head. 

Then  Ned  saw  that  a  wound  had  been  in- 
flicted with  a  club  or  some  blunt  weapon,  and 
that  the  bruising  of  the  flesh  by  the  blow  had  in 
a  measure  prevented  loss  of  blood. 

"Put  over  to  the  other  shore,"  Ned  ordered, 


152  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

as  he  stooped  over  the  boy.  "We  must  see  if 
we  can  find  a  surgeon  at  that  town  up  the 
river. " 

"I  wouldn't  run  away,"  Jack  exclaimed 
hotly.  "I'd  stay  right  here  and  fight." 

"That's  me!"  Harry  cut  in. 

"I  admire  your  courage,  but  think  little  of 
your  judgment,"  Ned  replied.  "We  can  attend 
to  those  fellows  after  we  know  whether  we  can 
save  the  little  fellow's  life  or  not." 

"Why,  I  thought  he'd  just  got  a  little  tunk 
on  the  head!"  apologized  Jack. 

"I  thought  so  too,"  Harry  hastened  to  say. 

The  Black  Bear,  with  the  Wolf  trailing  be- 
hind, was  turned  up  stream,  and  soon  the  few 
lights  of  Alameda  were  seen.  Alameda  is  a 
very  small  river  town,  not  far  below  Equili- 
brium rapids  and  not  far  above  Roosevelt 
rapids. 

As  Ned,  Frank  and  Jack  stepped  out  of  the 
boat  in  which  they  had  made  the  shore  they 
were  met  by  half  a  dozen  men  who  regarded 
them  with  inquiring  glances  in  which  suspicion 
seemed  to  be  quite  a  factor. 

"Is  there  a  surgeon  here?"  asked  Ned. 

The  men  addressed  stood  stolidly  facing  the 
boys  for  a  moment,  then  turned  and  began  con- 
Tersing  with  each  other  in  low  tones.  Enraged 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  153 

at  the  cool  impertinence  of  the  fellows,  Ned 
repeated  his  question. 

Then  one  of  the  men,  a  heavy,  broad-shoul- 
dered fellow  with  a  rather  clean-cut  face  and 
frank  eyes,  stepped  forward. 

"Where  are  you  hurt?"  he  asked. 

"The  wounded  boy  is  in  the  boat,"  Ned  an- 
swered. "If  you  can  point  the  way  to  a  sur- 
geon I'll  be  grateful." 

One  of  the  men  stepped  forward  and  said 
something  to  the  man  which  Ned  could  not 
hear.  Then  he  asked: 

"Where  did  you  get  that?" 

The  man  pointed  to  Ned's  right  arm,  which 
the  boy  was  holding  up  by  a  clutch  on  the 
wrist,  and  which,  by  the  way,  was  throbbing 
with  pain. 

Ned  looked  at  the  shoulder  and  was  sur- 
prised to  see  that  it  was  red  with  blood. 

"I  knew  I  had  been  struck  with  a  rock,  or 
something  of  the  kind,"  Ned  said,  then,  with  a 
poor  attempt  at  a  smile,  "but  I  did  not  know 
that  I  had  been  shot." 

"Now  you're  getting  down  to  the  point,"  the 
other  said.  "Who  did  that  shooting?" 

"We  did  some  of  it,  but  we  were  attacked 
and  the  boy  in  the  boat  knocked  unconscious 
before  we  fired  a  shot,"  Jack  broke  in  angrily. 
"Say,  what's  the  matter  with  you  people?"  h?? 


154  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MCTCB  BOAT 

added.  "  Can't  you  point  the  way  to  the  doc- 
tor's office?" 

"Keep  cool,  young  feller,"  another  of  the 
group  said.  "We  mean  to  find  out  about  this 
before  listenin'  to  any  cock-and-bull  stories. 
Did  you  fellows,  any  of  you,  come  ir»  the  air- 
ship?" 

Ned  shook  his  head. 

"We  came  in  the  motor  boat,"  he  said. 
"What  has  been  going  on  here  that  you  should 
be  so  suspicious?" 

"Murder  and  robbery  has  been  going  on!" 
shouted  a  man  at  the  back  of  the  group,  "and 
we've  got  to  know " 

Then  they  advanced  and  grouped  about  the 
boys  until  they  were  virtually  prisoners  in 
the  center  of  a  slowly  closing  circle  of  excited 
and  desperate-looking  frontiersmen.  Jack  and 
Frank  drew  closer  to  Ned  and  dropped  their 
hands  to  their  weapons. 

"You're  the  fellers  we  want!"  one  of  the 
circle  shouted,  shaking  a  brawny  fist  almost  in 
Jack's  face.  "You'll  get  a  doctor  here  that'll 
fix  you  up  for  keeps ! ' ' 

Jack  might  have  resented  this  insult,  in  fact, 
was  about  to  draw  his  automatic,  when  the 
sound  of  running  footsteps  came  down  the 
street.  The  men  turned  and  whispered  as  they 
watched  the  swiftly  approaching  figure. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  155 

The  newcomer,  rosy-faced,  clear-eyed, 
blonde,  a  boy  of  perhaps  seventeen,  dressed  in 
much  better  style  than  any  of  those  about  him, 
elbowed  his  way  through  the  crowd  about  the 
boys  and  stood,  wide-eyed,  looking  at  Ned. 

By  this  time  Ned  was  faint  from  pain 
and  loss  of  blood.  His  head  seemed  to  be 
swimming  in  a  circular  sea  which  darted 
flashes  of  fire  from  every  crested  wave.  He  saw 
the  stranger  regarding  him  curiously,  but  did 
not  see  the  look  of  recognition  in  his  eyes. 

Only  for  the  quick  support  of  Frank  and 
Jack,  he  would  have  fallen  to  the  ground.  The 
newcomer  pushed  the  men  away,  with  the  com- 
mand that  the  boy  be  given  air,  and  took  his 
place  by  Ned's  side. 

Jack  and  Prank  looked  on  in  amazement, 
thankful  for  the  assistance  which  had  come  at 
that  critical  moment,  still  bewildered  at  the 
wonder  of  it. 

The  frontiersmen,  momentarily  checked  by 
the  authoritative  actions  of  the  boy,  now  came 
closer  and  began  asking  questions,  mixing 
their  interrogations  with  accusations  and 
reproaches,  couched  in  no  mild  words. 

"Look  here,  fellows,"  the  boy  said  to  them, 
presently,  "I  know  this  party.  These  boys  are 
all  right.  The  wounded  boy  is  Ned  Nestor. 
You've  heard  of  him,  I  take  it.  I  don't  know 


156  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

these  other  boys,  but  they're  o.  k.  if  they're 
with  Ned." 

"Well,"  Jack  cried,  catching  the  stranger's 
hand,  "I  don't  know  you,  but  you've  done  a 
good  job  here!" 

The  men  whispered  together  a  moment  and 
then  the  one  who  had  spoken  first  stepped  for- 
ward. 

"It's  all  right  if  you  say  you  know  them, 
Lew,"  he  said,  "but  it  looks  suspicious  to  us, 
their  coming  up  here  in  a  boat  which  looks  like 
the  one  that  lugged  off  the  stolen  stuff,  one  of 
them  wounded  from  a  bullet.  Besides,  there 
was  shooting  down  the  river,  and  the  chances 
are  that  our  men  attacked  them.  The  men  who 
went  after  the  murderers  are  still  out  there 
somewhere." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  the  boy  addressed  as  Lew 
said,  "but  I  tell  you  that  I  know  this  party.  I 
read  in  the  papers  about  their  leaving  New 
York  a  couple  of  months  ago.  They're  on  a 
motor-boat  trip  down  the  Columbia." 

Ned  now  leaned  forward  and  laid  a  hand  on 
the  boy's  shoulder.  There  was  a  faint  smile  on 
his  face,  but  his  hand  shook. 

"You're  Lewis  Wagoner?"  he  asked.  "I 
didn't  know  who  it  was  when  I  heard  your 
voice,  but  I  know  now." 

'  *  You  've  guessed  it ! "  laughed  Lewis.   ' '  But 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  157 

how  did  you  come  to  get  into  such  a  scrape 
here?" 

Jack  and  Frank  did  not  wait  for  Ned  to 
reply,  but  began  at  the  attack  on  Jimmie  and 
related  the  events  of  the  evening  up  to  that 
time,  both  talking  together  at  times,  so  eager 
were  they  to  get  the  exact  situation  into  the 
dull  heads  of  the  questioners  and  get  informa- 
tion as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  doctor. 

The  man  who  had  first  addressed  the  boys 
now  stepped  up  to  Ned  and  extended  his  hand, 
the  others  observing  his  action  with  evident 
approval. 

"I'm  sorry  we  suspected  you  boys  of  the 
crimes  that  have  been  committed  here  tonight," 
he  said.  "If  Lewis  Wagoner  knows  you,  why, 
there's  nothing  more  to  say.  We  all  work  for 
his  father,  and  all  think  a  lot  of  the  boy." 

Laughingly,  Lewis  extended  his  right  hand, 
palm  up,  the  thumb  and  little  finger  crossed, 
the  three  remaining  fingers  straight  out.  Then 
he  raised  the  hand  to  his  forehead  in  full 
salute. 

"What  Patrol?"  asked  Jack. 

"The  Eagle,  New  York,"  was  the  astonish- 
ing reply. 

"So  you're  all  Boy  Scouts!"  laughed  the 
man  who  seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  group. 
"Well,  boys,  we  may  as  well  take  up  the  search 


158  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

for  the  murderers  again.  I  reckon  Lew  can 
entertain  these  fellows." 

"New  York  is  where  I  knew  Ned  Nestor," 
Lewis  said.  "  I  've  been  with  him  on  little  trips 
up  the  Hudson.  Now  I'm  marooned  out  here, 
and  I  guess  there'll  never  be  any  more  Hudson 
river  for  me!" 

"We  can  talk  this  over  at  another  time," 
Ned  replied,  taking  the  boy  by  the  hand  again, 
"but  now  we  must  find  a  doctor  and  take  him 
to  Jimmie." 

"Jimmie  McGraw?"  asked  Lewis. 

"The  same,"  replied  Frank.  "He  got  a 
bump  on  the  head,  and  is  lying  unconscious  in 
the  boat." 

"And  these  chaps  have  been  keeping  you 
standing  here!"  exclaimed  Lewis,  indignantly. 
"Mr.  Shelby,  will  you  go  after  the  doctor?" 

"Sure!"  was  the  reply.  "Be  glad  to.  Do 
all  we  can  for  any  friend  of  yours.  You  can't 
blame  us  for  being  watchful,  can  you,  after 
what's  taken  place  here?" 

"Sure  not,"  Lewis  replied.  "We'll  go  back 
to  the  boat  now,  and  you  send  the  doctor  down. 
Ned  will  need  fixing  up  a  little,  too,  I  take  it. 
And  while  there  I'll  explain  why  you  boys  were 
suspected  of  being  river  pirates." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  159 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  BLACK  BEAE  SCENTS  A  PBOWLEB. 

The  lad  whose  opportune  arrival  had  rescued 
the  boys  from  an  embarrassing  situation  en- 
tered the  Black  Bear  with  many  exclamations 
of  wonder  and  delight  at  the  superbly  finished 
and  furnished  interior.  He  had  examined  many 
motor  boats  built  expressly  for  long  river  trips, 
but  had  never  come  upon  anything  like  this. 

However,  little  time  was  lost  in  examining 
the  boat,  for  Jimmie  lay  upon  a  bunk  breath- 
ing heavily  and  plainly  in  need  of  medical  as- 
sistance. While  the  boys  worked  over  him, 
doing  all  they  could  for  his  relief,  Ned  man- 
aged to  wash  his  own  wound  and  tie  it  up 
roughly.  He  found  that  the  bones  were  not 
broken,  but  that  the  muscles  were  bruised,  and 
that  the  bullet  had  made  a  bad  flesh  wound. 

"I'll  be  as  fit  as  a  fiddle  in  a  few  days,"  he 
said,  in  answer  to  Jack's  anxious  inquiries. 
"We  can  lay  up  for  a  week  and  hunt  the  ruf- 
fians who  attacked  us." 

"They  are  a  bad  lot,"  Lewis  began,  but  at 
that  instant  the  doctor  arrived  and  made  a 
close  examination  of  the  unconscious  boy.  The 


160  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

others  gathered  around,  almost  afraid  to  ask 
the  truth  regarding  the  injury. 

"Well,"  said  the  doctor,  a  rough-and-ready 
man  who  handled  irrigation  deals  as  well  as 
treated  the  sick,  "the  kid  will  come  out  of  this 
before  long,  and  be  right  as  a  book.  He  got  a 
bad  knock-out  but  there  is  no  serious  injury. 
The  bruise  where  the  blow  fell  will  need  car- 
ing for,  and  that  is  about  all." 

Then  the  man  of  pills  looked  at  Ned's  arm 
and  promptly  advised  him  to  go  to  bed. 

"You've  got  a  bad,  though  not  fatal  wound," 
he  explained,  "and  you'll  get  well  all  the 
quicker  for  resting  up.  You  have  lost  a  lot  of 
blood." 

"I  should  think  so!"  Jack  cried  out.  "He 
came  near  dropping  while  in  the  village." 

The  doctor  remained  only  a  short  time,  as  he 
was  interested  in  the  capture  of  the  men  who 
had  made  a  raid  on  the  town  earlier  in  the  eve- 
ning. 

Soon  after  his  departure  Jimmie  opened  his 
eyes  and  looked  about,  a  sheepish  grin  on  his 
freckled  face. 

"Got  me  crust  busted,  didn't  I?"  he  asked. 

"You  bet  you  did ! ' '  answered  Frank.  1 1  Who 
did  it?" 

"Search  me,"  replied  the  boy,  wearily.    "I 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  161 

didn't  see  no  one  until  I  got  this  dip  on  the 
dome!" 

"He'll  come  out  o.  k.,'7  laughed  Lewis. 
'That  slang  sounds  like  Rivington  street!" 

"Hello,  Lew!"  Jimmie  cried,  opening  his 
eyes  at  sound  of  the  voice.  "Did  you  come  in 
the  airship?" 

"No  such  luck  as  that,"  Lew  replied.  "I 
came  in  the  choo-choos  to  Spokane,  and  then 
down  the  river,  walking  about  half  the  way." 

"On  the  water?"  queried  Jimmie,  with  the 
old  humor  flashing  in  his  eyes. 

"Around  the  water,"  Lewis  replied. 
"Around  the  rapids  and  things." 

"What  is  it  about  that  airship?"  Jack  asked 
presently.  Every  person  about  here  seems  to 
know  all  about  it." 

"No  one  knows  anything  about  it,"  Lewis 
answered.  "We  all  saw  it  yesterday  and  today, 
but  that  is  all — we  just  saw  it." 

"Didn't  land?" 

"No ;  that  is,  no  one  saw  it  drop  to  the  sur- 
face, but  there  are  those  who  insist  that  the 
men  who  murdered  Silcox  and  robbed  his  safe 
came  from  that  same  airship." 

"So  there  really  was  a  murder!"  asked 
Frank.  "I  thought  those  chaps  were  giving 
us  a  brace  about  that." 

"Yes ;  the  keeper  of  the  store  was  shot  while 


162  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

defending  his  property.  The  men  got  off  with- 
out being  seen,  and  with  $20,000  in  cash  which 
they  took  from  the  safe." 

"And they  thought  we  were  the  ones?  Na- 
turally," mused  Ned.  "Well,  there  must  have 
beei*  some  shooting,  for  one  of  the  men  up  there 
referred  to  something  of  that  kind." 

"Well,  Silcox  fired  a  couple  of  times,  and  we 
think  wounded  one  of  the  robbers,  for  we 
found  blood  outside.  It  was  late  in  the  after- 
noon, and  there  was  no  one  in  the  store  but  Sil- 
cox, and  little  noise  was  made.  The  first  we 
knew  there  was  the  shooting,  and  then  two  men 
dashed  toward  the  river.  No  one  saw  their 
faces,  or  much  of  their  figures,  as  far  as  that 
goes.  They  crossed  the  river  in  a  rowboat, 
drifting  down  with  the  strong  current,  and 
that  is  all  we  know  about  it." 

"And  the  men  who  are  searching  for  them 
are  still  out?" 

"Yes."  Perhaps  they  mistook  you  boys  for 
the  robbers." 

"No,"  Ned  answered,  "they  could  not  have 
done  that.  They  wouldn't  have  gone  at  it  in 
that  way.  I  think  the  men  who  attacked  Jimmie 
wanted  to  take  him  prisoner.  You  see,  weVe 
got  rather  a  duck  of  a  motor  boat  here,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  tender,  and  there's  some  one 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  163 

on  the  river  who  wants  it.  They  tried  to  get 
it  when  we  first  started  out." 

"I  don't  wonder  they  want  the  boats,"  Lewis 
laughed.  "  I  'd  like  them  myself. ' ' 

"With  one  of  us  captured,  I  think  they 
would  have  rushed  the  camp  and  driven  the 
others  off  or  shot  us,"  Ned  went  on.  "It  is 
probable,  from  their  actions,  that  they  do  not 
know  how  to  run  the  boat,  which  explains  why 
they  wanted  Jimmie." 

"If  there's  a  hot  spot  on  earth,"  grinned 
Jack,  "we're  sure  to  get  into  the  center  of  it. 
Say,"  he  went  on,  "you  live  here,  don't  yon?" 

"Just  at  present  father  is  trying  to  get  rich 
in  that  grain  country  over  in  the  south.  I'm 
going  back  to  New  York  this  fall." 

"What  do  you  know  about  the  ruined  temple 
down  the  river?"  asked  Frank. 

Lewis  dropped  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed 
such  an  amused,  jolly  laugh  that  the  others 
joined  in. 

"Ho,  ho!"  he  said  directly.  "So  you're  after 
the  East  Indian's  gold!" 

"I  told  you  so !"  Frank  observed,  turning  to 
Jack.  "Everybody  up  here  seems  to  know 
something  about  the  hidden  temple." 

"Everybody  hereabouts  has  heard  some- 
thing about  it,"  Lewis  interrupted,  "but  no 
one  has  ever  succeeded  in  finding  it.  About  a 


164  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

year  ago  a  couple  of  men  came  here  looking 
for  it." 

"And  there'll  be  more  here,"  Jack  laughed. 
"A  couple  of  thieves  left  New  York  just  about 
the  time  we  did!" 

"Perhaps  the  man  in  the  airship  is  after  it, 
too,"  suggested  Lewis. 

"Say,"  Frank  broke  in,  a  sudden  thought 
making  his  eyes  shine,  "you  say  you  belong  to 
the  Eagle  Patrol?" 

"Exactly." 

"Well,  have  you  got  a  musical  crank  in  your 
Patrol  who  thinks  he  can  run  an  airship?" 

Lewis  looked  thoughtful  for  a  minute. 

"We've  got  a  musically  inclined  boy  who  is 
inventing  aeroplanes, ' '  he  finally  replied.  ' ( He 
has  a  new  model  every  time  I  see  him.  The  last 
time  I  met  the  boy  he  had  found  a  man  to  build 
one  of  his  aluminum  contraptions." 

"How  long  ago  was  that?" 

"Oh,  a  year,  perhaps." 

"What  kind  of  an  aeroplane  was  he  thinking 
of  building?" 

"One  with  a  noiseless  motor;  one  with  aero- 
plane paint  which  would,  he  said,  make  it  invis- 
ible at  a  distance  of  4,000  feet,  even  on  a  bright 
day." 

"What's  his  notion?" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  165 

"He  says  that  all  future  battles  will  be 
fought  in  the  air." 

"Now,  what's  his  name?" 

"Leroy,  Sam  Leroy — a  broth  of  a  kid  he  is." 

"Then  why  didn't  he  pay  you  a  visit  when 
he  passed  yesterday?"  asked  Jack. 

"Pay  me  a  visit?"  repeated  the  other. 

"Sure,  that  was  Leroy  in  that  airship." 

"It  doesn't  seem  possible." 

Then  Lewis  was  told  of  the  signs  and  the  let- 
ter left  by  the  boy  who  had  played  the  flute 
so  divinely  and  drifted  off  toward  Spokane  in 
an  aeroplane. 

Lewis  clapped  his  hands  enthusiastically. 

"Then  Leroy 's  got  it  at  last!"  Jie  cried. 
"He's  got  his  aeroplane  perfected.  Oh,  that's 
him  all  right!"  he  went  on.  "He's  the  best 
flute  player  in  New  York." 

"And  belongs  to  the  Eagle  Patrol?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  what  is  he  dodging  about  here  for?" 
demanded  Jack.  "He  seems  to  know  that  we 
are  Boy  Scouts,  for  he  left  signals  and  a  letter 
for  us.  Why  doesn't  he  come  down  for  a 
talk?" 

"Perhaps  he  wants  to  beat  you  to  the  ruined 
temple ! "  suggested  Lewis. 

"But  he  isn't  supposed  to  know  anything 
about  the  ruined  temple,"  Jack  put  in.  "We 


166  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

don't  know  anything  about  it,  either;  only 
Frank  thinks  he  can  find  it  and  lug  home  a 
carload  of  pieces  of  eight,  whatever  they  are." 

"  You  bet  I  can  find  it !"  Frank  insisted. 

"I'd  like  to  go  with  you,"  Lewis  said,  then. 
"  You'll  have  a  gay  time,  whether  you  find  the 
temple  or  not." 

"That  is  what  we're  out  for,"  Ned  re- 
marked. "  We  came  out  to  live  in  a  motor  boat 
on  the  Columbia,  but  ever  since  the  start  it  has 
seemed  to  me,  from  the  conversation  on  board, 
that  we  were  going  after  a  pirate  treasure." 

"You  really  don't  believe  in  the  hidden  tem- 
ple?" asked  Lewis. 

"Of  course  not." 

"Well,  there's  something  over  in  there,"  the 
boy  continued.  "The  men  who  came  here  half 
a  century  ago  say  that  they  found  traces  of 
visitors  who  used  material  in  their  boats  which 
never  grew  in  this  country,  and  there  is  said  to 
be  a  mound,  far  down  the  stream,  which  yields 
up  trinkets  and  vessels  never  known  to  the 
Indians.  There  is  some  reason  for  believing 
that  there  is  really  something  in  the  ruined 
temple  story,"  he  continued,  "still  no  one  has 
succeeded  in  locating  it." 

"That  gink  in  the  aeroplane  told  us  to  go 
back  home!"  Jimmie  awoke  to  say,  and  then 
dropped  off  into  a  doze  again. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  167 

"That's  Leroy!"  Lewis  cried.  "Oh,  just 
wait  until  I  get  my  hands  on  the  boy.  I'll  trim 
him!" 

"Do  you  think  he's  looking  for  the  temple ?" 
asked  Jack,  carelessly. 

"He  may  be;  or  he  may  be  testing  his 
machine  for  long  distance  runs." 

"I  just  believe  he  heard  about  our  trip," 
Prank  mused,  "and  thought  he'd  go  us  one  bet- 
ter in  an  airship.  I'd  like  to  know  where  he  is 
tonight." 

"He  was  here  today." 

"Yes,  we  saw  him  then ;  but  he's  likely  to  go 
off  again  and  not  show  up  for  two  weeks." 

Jack,  who  was  now  standing  by  an  open 
panel,  looked  back  into  the  room  and  beckoned 
to  Lewis.  When  the  latter  approached  the 
opening  he  in  turn  motioned  to  the  other  boys 
to  get  closer. 

"What  do  you  make  of  that?" 

He  asked  the  question  in  a  low  tone,  for  just 
outside,  within  twenty  yards  of  the  Black  Bear, 
sailing  calmly  eastward,  was  the  aeroplane,  its 
gray  planes  glittering  in  the  last  light  of  the 
moon.  From  where  the  boys  stood  they  could 
see  the  driver  quite  distinctly.  He  was  not 
looking  down,  so  they  could  not  distinguish  his 
features. 

"Call  him  I"  suggested  Frank. 


168  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Leroy  I"  yelled  Lewis. 

There  was  no  answer.  Instead  the  motors 
were  thrown  into  high  speed,  and  the  airship 
dashed  upward  and  northward  like  a  rocket. 

" That's  a  queer  caper!"  Lewis  exclaimed, 
chagrined  and  half  angry  at  the  discourteous 
action  of  the  boy  in  the  aeroplane.  "He  cer- 
tainly heard  me." 

"To  be  sure  he  did,"  Jack  remarked,  "but  I 
wasn't  thinking  of  his  impudence,  I  was  won- 
dering how  he  ever  got  up  a  machine  that 
makes  no  noise  to  speak  of.  Why,  he  could 
scoot  all  around  a  military  camp  in  that  air- 
ship and  never  be  detected." 

"He's  certainly  been  shooting  around  us," 
Frank  said.  "Mighty  strange  he  doesn't  land 
and  give  an  account  of  himself — if  it  is  Sam 
Leroy." 

' '  I  don 't  think  there 's  any  doubt  about  that, ' ' 
Lewis  explained.  "Leroy  is  a  crank  on  aero- 
planes, and  he  is  also  a  flute  soloist.  I  reckon 
he's  doing  this  to  have  a  good  story  to  tell  about 
you  boys  when  you  all  get  back  to  New  York." 

"Something  more  than  that,"  Jack  argued, 
suspiciously.  He's  got  a  motive  in  what  he's 
doing.  You'll  see,  in  time!" 

Lewis  remained  on  the  Black  Bear  until  a 
late  hour  and  then  went  home,  promising  to 
return  in  the  morning.  Jimmie  improved  so 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  169 

rapidly  that  it  was  not  necessary  for  any  one 
to  watch  with  him  during  the  remainder  of  the 
night,  and  Ned  declared  that  he  could  sleep 
like  a  top,  in  spite  of  his  wounds,  so  by  one 
o'clock  the  lights  were  out  and  the  boys  were 
asleep. 

The  fact  that  the  boat  lay  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  little  pier  at  the  foot  of  the  one  business 
street  of  Alameda,  and  the  further  fact  that 
the  men  of  the  town  were  up  and  about,  search- 
ing the  river  and  the  valley  on  both  sides  of  it 
for  the  murderers  of  the  merchant,  caused  the 
boys  to  retire  without  leaving  a  guard,  a  thing 
they  had  not  done  before  for  a  long  time. 

Jack  slept  lightly,  however,  for  his  mind  was 
troubled.  With  Ned  and  Jimmie  on  the  invalid 
list,  he  knew  that  slow  progress  would  now  be 
made.  In  fact  it  had  already  been  proposed  to 
tie  up  there  for  a  week. 

This  was  not  at  all  in  accordance  with  the 
notions  of  the  boy.  As  the  reader  already 
understands,  Jack  really  had  strong  belief  in 
the  story  of  the  ruined  temple.  As  Jimmie 
had  explained,  the  boy  laughed  at  Frank  for 
his  optimistic  opinions  on  the  subject  more  to 
keep  it  under  discussion  than  for  any  other 
reason. 

Jack  knew  that  neither  Scoby  nor  Akbar 
possessed  the  old  book  describing  the  location 


170  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

of  the  old  temple.  He  knew  that  neither  one 
of  the  unfaithful  servants  held  the  map  point- 
ing the  way  to  the  lonely  locality  described  in 
the  book.  He  knew  positively  that  they  had 
nothing  save  hearsay  to  guide  them. 

He  knew  that  the  two  were  all  at  sea  in  their 
quest  because  lie,  himself,  had  the  precious 
look  in  his  possession! 

On  the  very  day  before  the  search  of  Mr. 
Bosworth's  den,  Jack  had  taken  the  book  to 
his  room  for  the  purpose  of  studying  out  the 
suggested  route  to  the  canyon  where  the  ruined 
temple  was  supposed  to  be.  That  was  the  rea- 
son why  the  exhaustive  search  made  by  Saxby 
had  not  proved  successful. 

Afterwards,  when  discussing  the  matter 
with  Nestor  and  his  father,  he  had  not  men- 
tioned having  the  book  because  he  did  not  care 
at  that  time  to  admit  his  great  interest  in  the 
subject.  Besides,  if  no  one  knew  that  he  had 
the  book,  the  chances  of  his  being  molested  by 
those  seeking  it  would  be  lessened. 

He  did  not  believe,  of  course,  that  Ned  or  his 
father,  or  any  of  the  boys  belonging  to  the 
party,  would  knowingly  reveal  his  secret,  still, 
he  could  not  tell  what  slip  of  the  tongue  might 
place  the  information  in  the  possession  of  the 
villainous  servants. 

Later  on,  when  the  existence  of  the  mysteri- 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  171 

ous  temple  became  merely  a  joke  with  the  boys, 
he  did  not  care  to  show  just  what  his  feelings 
in  the  matter  were.  So  he  became  the  leading 
scoffer  and  kept  the  matter  going  as  a  joke. 

His  idea,  on  this  restless  night,  was  to  get  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  old  temple — he  was  certain 
in  his  own  mind  that  there  was  a  temple ! — as 
soon  as  possible  and  make  investigation  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  his  chums.  If  he  found 
what  he  sought,  the  victory  would  be  doubly 
sweet  because  of  his  winning  it  alone ;  if,  how- 
ever, he  never  found  the  location  described  or 
the  temple,  then  there  would  be  no  one  to  laugh 
at  him  for  his  credulity  and  misplaced 
industry. 

So  he  was  restive  under  the  delay.  It  had 
been  a  long  time  since  he  had  heard  from  Scoby 
or  Akbar,  yet  he  was  certain  that  they  had  not 
given  up  the  hunt.  He  was  positive  that  they 
were  steadily  drawing  nearer  to  the  Black  Bear 
as  the  Black  Bear  drew  nearer  to  the  mysteri- 
ous canyon  he  sought. 

There  was,  indeed,  a  suspicion  in  the  mind  of 
the  lad  that  both  Saxby  and  Akbar  suspected 
his  possession  of  the  book  and  the  map.  Saxby 
had  often  talked,  in  a  seemingly  careless  way, 
with  him  about  the  hidden  treasure,  and  knew 
that  he,  Jack,  had  read  the  book  and  was 
greatly  interested  in  it. 


172  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Saxby  would  naturally  reason  that  if  the 
book  was  not  in  the  den  on  that  night  then  it 
must  be  in  one  of  two  places — in  the  possession 
of  Jack  or  Akbar.  Akbar,  too,  knew,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  of  his,  Jack's,  reading  the  book,  and 
he  would  not  be  long  in  reaching  the  conclu- 
sion that  if  Saxby  did  not  have  the  book  Jack 
must  have  it. 

Jack  did  not  doubt  that  Saxby  and  Akbar 
had  been  playing  the  sleuth  on  each  other  ever 
since  that  night,  and  he  decided  in  his  own 
mind  that  by  this  time  Akbar  had  reached  the 
conclusion  that  Saxby  did  not  have  the  book  or 
the  map.  It  would  be  perfectly  easy  for  Akbar 
to  reach  such  a  conclusion,  for,  with  them  in 
his  possession,  Saxby  would  have  pointed 
straight  for  the  location  described.  This  he, 
evidently,  had  not  done. 

So,  Jack  figured,  both  Saxby  and  Akbar  were 
not  far  away  at  that  time.  Blind  luck  might 
lead  them  to  the  temple  and  the  treasure.  Jack 
was  not  so  much  interested  in  the  pieces  of 
eight  Jimmie  laughed  about  as  he  was  about 
the  old  temple. 

Besides,  there  were  the  men  who  attacked 
the  merchant,  and  later  assaulted  Jimmie. 
They,  too,  might  be  in  quest  of  the  thing  he, 
himself,  was  in  search  of. 

With  this  burden  on  his  mind  Jack,  as  has 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  173 

been  said,  slept  lightly  on  that  night.  The  day 
before  he  had  promised  himself  that  he  would 
soon  reach  the  point  in  the  river  from  which 
the  craigs  he  sought  would  be  in  sight.  He  had 
not  figured  out  the  details  of  his  trip  to  the 
canyon — just  how  he  was  to  elude  the  others 
and  proceed  to  the  canyon  alone — but  he  had 
not  imagined  that  part  of  the  affair  as  dif- 
ficult. 

But  now  the  events  of  the  evening  had  neces- 
sitated a  tie-up,  and  Jack  was  not  at  all  pleased 
with  the  idea,  though  he  did  not  openly  express 
his  disgust  at  the  turn  things  were  taking. 
When  he  opened  his  eyes,  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  he  was  actually  wondering  if 
it  would  not  be  possible  for  him  to  take  the 
little  boat  and  some  provisions  and  go  on  down 
the  river  alone ! 

Of  course  he  would  leave  a  note  for  the  boys, 
saying  that  he  had  gone  off  into  the  hills  for 
a  little  quiet  hunting,  so  they  would  not  be  wor- 
ried over  his  disappearance.  Then  he  could 
find  the  places  described  in  the  book  and 
pointed  out  on  the  map  and  set  about  his 
search. 

What  a  triumph  it  would  be  if  he  could  only 
discover  the  temple,  perhaps  grown  over  with 
vines  and  brambles,  fallen  into  decay  as  to  wall 
and  tower,  but  still  showing  the  handiwork  of 


174  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

that  old  Akbar  who  had  toiled  up  the  wide 
Columbia  to  hide  his  treasure !  How  he  would 
laugh  at  the  others !  Of  course  there  would  be 
no  pieces  of  eight,  for  they  were  Spanish  coins, 
but  there  would  be  gold ! 

While,  half  awake,  the  boy  dreamed  of  the 
success  of  his  secret  plans,  there  came  a  thud 
at  the  stern  of  the  Black  Bear,  and  then  the 
boat  swayed  slightly,  as  if  under  a  heavy 
weight.  In  a  moment  there  came  a  sound  of 
whispering  voices. 

Jack  slipped  softly  out  of  his  hammock, 
crouched  low,  and  moved  toward  the  stern.  The 
side  panels  were  up,  shutting  out  the  night, 
but  the  panels  at  the  prow  and  stern  were  open 
from  the  top  to  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
floor. 

As  the  boy  looked  out  of  the  opening,  two 
figures  stood  outlined  against  the  starlit  sky. 


ON  TEE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  175 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AKBAB  PKESENTS  HIMSELF. 

Jack's  first  impulse  was  to  awaken  Prank 
or  Harry,  but  a  little  reflection  convinced  him 
that  the  noises  consequent  on  the  rousing  from 
slumber  of  two  such  sleepy  heads  as  they  were 
would  be  sure  to  frighten  the  intruders  away. 

His  idea  was  to  at  least  ascertain  who  the 
nocturnal  visitors  were,  and  to  capture  one  or 
both,  if  that  were  possible.  So  he  reached  for 
his  automatic  and  remained  quiet,  watching 
and  listening. 

The  two  figures  standing  between  the  boy 
and  the  patch  of  dim  light  to  the  north  seemed 
to  be  those  of  men  abnormally  tall  and  slender. 
Their  faces  were  turned  toward  the  interior, 
but  he  could  not  distinguish  the  features  of 
either. 

Directly  Ned  stirred  restlessly  in  his  sleep 
and  uttered  a  faint  moan.  Then  the  intruders 
drew  back  on  the  rim  of  the  deck  beyond  the 
panels  and  crouched  lower. 

When  Ned  quieted  down  again  they  returned 
to  the  opening  and  one  of  them  put  his  head 
inside.  The  other  figure  disappeared  from 
yiew. 


176  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"The  nerve  of  Mm!"  Jack  thought. 

There  was  only  the  light  of  the  stars,  as  has 
been  said,  but  Jack  sensed  something  familiar 
in  the  long,  lithe  figure  bending  over  the  edges 
of  the  panels  and  peering  inside.  The  turning 
of  the  head,  the  sinister  undulations  of  the  long 
neck,  the  cautiously  lifted  hand,  spoke  to  him 
of  Akbar! 

"I  guess  he's  come  at  last!"  the  boy  thought. 
"Now,  I  wonder  who  that  other  gink  outside 
is  ?  If  Ned  was  awake  I  wonder  what  he'd  tell 
me  to  do!  I  feel  like  taking  a  shot  at  the 
brute!" 

Then  something  unexpected  happened.  A 
click  of  metal  at  the  prow  attracted  Jack's 
attention,  and  he  turned  his  head  quickly  to 
see  the  oblong  space  of  light  darkened.  There 
were  other  clicks — the  snap  of  springs.  The 
panels  were  being  put  up !  Probably  the  man 
who  had  disappeared  from  sight  was  doing 
that. 

"Perhaps  he's  afraid  we'll  take  cold,"  Jack 
thought,  with  a  grim  smile  as,  one  after  one,  the 
panels  went  into  place. 

In  the  meantime,  the  man  peering  into  the 
interior,  scarcely  moved.  He  was  bending  for- 
ward, as  if  to  observe  what  was  going  on  in  the 
darkness. 

Jack  was  thinking  pretty  fast,  but  to  little 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  177 

purpose.  What  did  it  mean  ?  Why  were  these 
nocturnal  visitors  closing  the  panels? 

The  boy  could  not  answer  these  questions  for 
a  moment,  but  when  the  front  panels  were  all 
up  and  the  man  at  the  stern  drew  out  of  the 
opening  and  began  to  put  up  the  panels  there, 
the  purpose  of  it  all  came  to  him. 

It  was  a  peculiar,  stifling  odor  that  first  laid 
the  train  of  thought  which  brought  him  to  a 
realization  of  what  was  going  on.  .The  odor 
was  that  of  chloroform ! 

Jack  bent  forward  and,  taking  Frank  by  the 
arm,  clapped  a  hand  close  over  his  mouth  and 
whispered  in  his  ear : 

"Cut  out  the  racket,  now!  Don't  move! 
Don't  wiggle!  There's  doings  on  board  the 
Black  Bear!  Wake  up!" 

Frank  did  wiggle  and  grunt,  however,  for 
the  pressing  palm  of  his  excited  chum  shut  off 
his  wind  and  seemed  about  to  choke  him  to 
death.  Finally  he  managed  to  get  out  from 
under  the  hand. 

"What  the " 

Jack  pulled  at  his  arm  to  command  silence 
and  pointed  to  the  stern. 

"Look  there !"  he  said,  in  very  faint  whisper. 

The  noise  inside  had  not  been  heard  above 
the  sliding  of  the  panels  and  the  rippling  of  the 
current,  and  what  Frank  saw  was  the  closing 


178  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

up  of  the  square  at  the  back.  Then  the  stifling 
odor  came  to  his  nostrils  and  he  attempted  to 
rise  to  his  feet. 

"Cut  it  out!"  Jack  whispered. 

"What  is  it  ?"  Frank  demanded. 

"Only  a  visit  from  Akbar!" 

"What's  he  shutting  us  in  for?" 

"Why,  he  wants  to  steal  the  boat,  and  us 
in  it!" 

' '  Wake  up ! "  Frank  came  back. 

"See,"  Jack  went  on,  "he's  trying  to  put  us 
to  sleep  with  chloroform,  so  we'll  be  good  boys 
until  he  gets  time  to  knock  us  on  the  head. ' ' 

"Then  why  don't  we  have  something  to  say 
about  this?  What  are  we  sitting  here  for? 
Waiting  for  him  to  put  us  to  sleep  ?" 

"Listen!"  whispered  Jack.  "When  he  has 
the  panels  all  in  but  the  top  ones,  we'll  creep 
back  there  and  haul  him  inside.  He  won't  be 
expecting  anything  like  that,  and  will  come  in 
like  he  was  greased!" 

Frank  grunted  as  if  in  disbelief  of  this  last 
statement. 

"Then  you  sit  down  on  him — hard — and  I'll 
wake  up  the  others  and  turn  on  the  lights,  and 
there  you  are." 

"Mighty  fine!"  Frank  whispered.  "Suppose 
you  sit  down  on  him!" 

"All  right!" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  179 

The  panels  were  nearly  all  in,  and  the  over- 
powering odor  of  chloroform  was  becoming 
decidedly  unpleasant,  so  the  two  boys  moved 
toward  the  stern,  ready  to  seize  the  long  arms 
when  they  were  thrust  inside  again  and  draw 
the  lithe  body  in  after  them. 

While  they  crept  forward  they  felt  the  boat 
moving.  The  motion  was  not  like  the  rocking 
of  a  boat  at  anchor.  It  was  like  the  breezy  rush 
of  a  boat  going  forward  at  a  rapid  rate  of 
speed. 

'"ihey've  turned  her  loose!"  Frank  whis- 
pered. 

Without  waiting  to  reply,  Jack  pushed  Ids 
hand  through  the  opening,  now  lacking  only 
one  panel,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to  seize 
the  snake-like  neck  of  the  figure  he  saw  just 
outside. 

Frank  was  at  his  side  in  an  instant,  his  hands 
pulling  at  the  shoulders,  the  hair,  the  arms,  of 
the  struggling  figure  Jack  was  endeavoring  to 
draw  through  a  six-inch  opening ! 

The  boat  swayed  and  dipped  as  if  some 
heavy  weight  had  been  suddenly  added  to  its 
burden,  and  then  a  long,  wavering  shriek  came 
from  the  outside. 

The  boys  heard  someone  running  to  the 
prow,  as  if  to  enter  by  that  way  and  make 
attack  in  the  rear,  but  they  knew  that  the  hos- 


180  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

tile  visitors  had  themselves  barred  the  way  to 
such  a  move. 

Then,  when  the  struggles  of  the  man  outside 
grew  fainter,  the  boys  felt  a  strong  tug  against 
their  strength  and  knew  that  the  associate  of 
the  captured  man  was  trying  to  draw  him  away 
by  sheer  strength. 

"Hang  on,  Frank!"  Jack  panted.  "Hang 
on;  we'll  pull  him  through  the  panels  before 
we  '11  let  him  get  away ! ' ' 

Then  some  one  crawled  past  Jack  and  turned 
on  the  light.  Frank  promptly  threw  a  shoe  at 
the  bulb  and  crushed  it. 

"You  idiot!"  he  said.  "You'll  have  bullets 
coming  in  here." 

Bullets  did  rattle  against  the  panels  on  the 
outside,  but  did  no  harm,  and  then  there  came 
shouts  from  the  shore,  followed  by  the  quick 
swaying  of  the  boat  and  a  heavy  splash  in  the 
river. 

"Have  you  got  him  yet?" 

That  was  Harry's  voice,  and  Jack  felt  the 
boy's  hand  on  his  arm. 

4  *  Sure  I  've  got  him,  and  got  him  right !  Pull 
in!  Pull  in!  He's  been  trying  to  cut  my 
hand!" 

By  this  time  Ned  and  Jimmie  were  astir. 
Ned  sprang  to  his  feet  while  Jimmie  lay  wide- 
f;yed  and  marveled  at  the  commotion  on  board  I 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 


Ned,  quick  to  understand  the  situation, 
began  removing  the  panels  at  front  and  back, 
and  in  five  minutes  the  air  was  clearer  and 
Jack's  captive,  unconscious  and  blue  and  pur- 
ple about  the  throat,  was  dragged  in.  His  com- 
panion had  fled.  The  boat  was  moving  swiftlj 
down  stream,  and  Ned's  first  move,  then,  was 
to  cast  out  the  anchor.  It  dragged  for  a  min- 
ute, the  water  being  deep,  then  caught  and  the 
boat  swung  around. 

He  was  obliged  to  find  another  incandescent 
bulb  before  he  could  make  light  other  than  that 
supplied  by  the  flashlight  Frank  now  turned  on 
the  captive. 

"It  is  Akbar!"  Frank  said,  a  note  of  tri- 
umph in  his  voice.  "We  caught  him  with  the 
goods." 

Jack  made  no  reply,  but  when  Ned  had 
adjusted  his  bulb  and  the  lights  struck  upon 
the  whole  figure  he  released  his  hold  of  the  fel- 
low and  sat  back  on  his  heels,  a  disappointed 
look  on  his  face. 

"I  really  thought  it  was!"  he  said. 

"Looks  like  him,"  Frank  ventured. 

"It  is  him!"  Jimmie  cut  in,  lifting  himself 
on  an  elbow  to  look  down  on  the  silent  figure  on 
the  floor. 

"No,"  Jack  said,   regretfully,  "it  is  not 


182  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Akbar,  but  a  man  very  like  him.  I  thought  it 
was  when  I  got  him  by  the  neck." 

"Is  he  dead?" 

This  from  Harry,  who  was  beginning  to  look 
rather  troubled. 

"  Just  unconscious  from  the  hug  this  Black 
Bear  gave  him,"  Ned  laughed. 

"Then  it  must  have  been  Akbar  who  ran 
away, ' '  Frank  suggested.  *  *  What  a  coward  the 
fellow  is!  Still,  I  guess  he  was  threatened  from 
the  shore." 

"What  did  they  do  it  for?"  came  Jimmie's 
voice. 

"To  get  the  boat,"  Jack  answered.  "See  how 
the  air  still  stinks  in  here !  They  wanted  to  put 
us  to  sleep  and  send  us  over  the  rapids,  I  take 
it" 

This  is  the  way  the  boy  had  figured  it  out 
the  instant  the  odor  of  chloroform  came  to  his 
nostrils, 

Ned  turned  on  the  motors  and  the  boat 
speeded  back  to  the  old  anchor  place.  Half  a 
dozen  rough-looking  men  who  had  been  out 
hunting  the  murderers  stood  on  the  little  pier 
as  the  boat  came  up. 

"What's  been  doing?"  one  of  them  asked. 

Jack  explained  what  had  taken  place. 

"Those  dusky  fellows,"  the  man  who  had 
asked  the  question  then  said,  "have  been  about 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVEK.  185 

town  for  three  days.  If  we  could  have  laid 
hands  on  them  today,  after  the  murder — or 
yesterday,  rather,  for  it  is  now  most  morning 
— we  would  have  locked  them  up  as  suspects, 
but  they  disappeared  early  in  the  afternoon." 

The  man  stepped  into  the  boat  and  studied 
the  face  of  the  still  unconscious  captive. 

"Give  him  a  dip  in  the  river,"  he  advised. 

"Go  ahead  an'  do  it,"  urged  Jimmie.  "That 
will  bring  him  to  his  senses — if  he  ever  had 
any." 

"Souse  him!"  Harry  added.  "I  like  to  see 
the  bubbles  come  up." 

"And  don't  let  go  when  you  have  him  in  the 
water,"  continued  the  visitor,  with  a  sly  wink. 

But  Ned  prevented  the  thing  being  done. 
Although  he  had  no  sympathy  for  the  man  who 
had  attempted  the  lives  of  all  on  board  the 
Black  Bear,  he  did  not  care  to  burden  his  con- 
science with  an  act  of  brutality. 

The  prisoner  was  taken  ashore  and  turned 
over  to  the  keeper  of  the  town  jail. 

"I  want  to  talk  with  him  sometime  today," 
Jack  said,  as  the  fellow  was  carried  away.  "He 
may  know  something  about  Akbar's  intentions 
and  plans." 

As  will  be  surmised,  the  boy's  real  motive  in 
seeing  the  prisoner  was  to  learn,  if  possible, 
the  exact  measure  of  Akbar's  knowledge  of  the 


1S4  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

mythical  temple!  The  nearer  he  came  to  the 
location  where  the  temple  was  believed  to  be 
the  more  infatuated  he  became  with  the  idea  of 
searching  it  out  unaided  and  alone ! 

In  the  afternoon  the  boy  could  get  no  infor- 
mation whatever  out  of  the  prisoner.  The  fel- 
low pretended  that  he  did  not  understand  what 
was  said  to  him,  and  only  grunted  when  qmes- 
tioned. 

On  the  second  day,  accompanied  by  Lewis, 
and  leaving  Ned  and  Jimmie  in  a  quiet  little 
family  home  at  Alameda,  the  boys  dropped 
down  to  the  head  of  the  rapids  and  tied  up. 
Then  followed  a  week  of  exploration  which  the 
lads  always  remembered. 

It  was  glorious  weather,  and  the  boys  never 
seemed  to  tire.  The  Great  Northwest  seemed 
to  take  them  into  her  confidence,  and  to  reveal 
to  them  many  a  secret  of  the  forests,  mountains 
and  river.  They  were  golden  days  and  nights ! 

After  all  is  said,  it  is  probable  that  river 
trips  similar  to  this  one  are  the  most  enjoyable 
form  of  vacation.  The  summer  on  the  seashore 
grows  monotonous,  the  vacation  on  the  moun- 
tain is  suitable  only  for  the  most  sturdy  young- 
sters, and  the  interior  of  great  forests  is  too 
often  a  shut-in  place. 

The  river  trip  supplies  a  constant  change  of 
s«ene.  Besides,  the  owners  of  a  speedy  river 


THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  185 


boat  can  join  in  the  amusements  of  civilization 
whenever  the  wilds  grow  unattractive.  The 
Columbia  river  comes  tumbling  down  from  the 
backbone  of  the  North  American  continent, 
and  so  is  often  obliged  to  take  great  leaps  and 
bubble  over  rocky  beds,  making  portages  fre- 
quent, but  there  are  plenty  of  rivers  in  the 
country  where  such  conditions  do  not  exist 

One  day  when  Jack  and  Lewis  sat  alone  on 
the  ledge  of  rock  which  shut  in  the  valley  on 
the  north,  the  latter  asked: 

"Have  you  ever  thought  of  going  to  Omak 
lake?" 

Jack  did  not  reply  instantly.  The  mention 
of  the  name  had  given  him  a  glad  suprise. 
Omak  lake!  He  had  seen  that  name  in  the 
book  brought  from  home  !  The  body  of  water, 
wherever  it  was,  must  have  been  christened  a 
long  time  ago,  he  thought!  And  the  name! 
Clearly  of  East  Indian  origin  !  Could  it  be  that 
he  was  actually  coming  into  the  district  he  had 
dreamed  of  so  many  nights  ? 

"Where  is  this  lake?"  he  asked,  in  as  car* 
less  a  tone  as  he  could  assume. 

"About  ten  miles  to  the  north,"  was  the 
reply. 

"We  might  go  there  tomorrow,"  Jack  sug- 
gested. 

Lewis  grinned  provokingly. 


186  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

' '  Tomorrow ! "  he  repeated.  * '  Better  say  we 
might  start  tomorrow." 

"But  only  ten  miles " 

"Unless  you  fly  there  in  this  aeroplane  Leroy 
is  dodging  about  in,  you'll  travel  about  a  hun- 
dred miles  or  more  before  you  get  to  the  lake. 
Half  this  distance  will  be  around  cliffs  and 
mountain  spurs  and  the  other  half  will  be 
straight  up  in  the  air  and  down  to  the  surface 
again." 

"Looks  like  a  rough  country  off  there,"  Jack 
admitted,  looking  over  the  rapids  and  down  to 
the  "Big  W."  "Still,"  he  added,  "I  wouldn't 
like  to  leave  the  district  without  seeing  it. 

"Then  we'll  take  the  boats  back  to  Alameda 
tonight,"  Lewis  replied,  "leave  them  there, 
and  in  the  morning  come  down  in  a  rowboat, 
tie  it  up  here,  and  take  a  hike  for  Omak  lake. 
How's  that?" 

"How  long  will  it  take  us  to  get  there?" 
asked  Jack  cautiously. 

"It  may  take  a  week." 

"And  we'll  have  to  pack  our  provisions?" 

"Of  course.  That  is  reservation  land,  and 
we'll  not  be  likely  to  come  across  a  department 
store,"  laughed  the  boy. 

"Then  why  not  leave  Frank  and  Harry  here 
with  the  boats  and  go  on  alone?"  asked  Jack. 
"If  they  want  to  go  in,  why,  they  can  do  so 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  187 

after  we  come  back.  What  I  don't  like  about 
your  plan,"  he  added,  "is  the  leaving  of  the 
boats  up  there  at  Alameda  with  no  guard.  Ned 
and  Jimmie  are  not  fit  to  take  care  of  them, 
and  the  craft  seem  to  be  in  pretty  good 
demand." 

"That's  true,"  Lewis  replied.  "Well,  then, 
we'll  talk  it  over  with  Frank  and  Harry,  and 
go  in  tomorrow."  Perhaps  they  won't  want  to 
go  at  all." 

Of  course  it  will  be  understood  that  Jack's 
purpose  in  leaving  the  others  behind  on  this 
difficult  trip  was  to  gain  for  himself  all  the 
glory  of  the  discovery  of  the  ruined  temple! 
He  was  not  an  especially  selfish  boy,  but  he  had 
said  so  much  against  the  theory  of  the  ancient 
book  that  he  did  not  want  his  chums  to  know 
that  he  was  really  interested  in  the  matter — 
until  after  he  had  proved  successful  in  his 
quest! 

At  times  he  regretted  taking  the  stand  he 
had  in  the  matter,  but  he  thought  he  had  gone 
too  far  to  withdraw,  and  so  he  planned  to  take 
Lewis  with  him  and  make  the  search  without 
the  assistance  of  his  friends.  If  he  found  the 
temple,  or  anything  which  might  have  stood 
for  it  in  the  minds  of  explorers,  he  would  be 
glad ;  if  he  did  not,  no  one  would  know! 

That  night  the  matter  was  talked  over,  and 


188  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Frank  and  Harry  declared  they  would  remain 
with  the  boats  above  the  rapids  and  await  the 
return  of  Jack  and  Lewis.  Nothing  whatever 
was  said  of  the  ruined  temple.  In  fact, 
Jack  thought  Frank  altogether  too  reticent 
on  the  subject,  for  the  region  about  Lake  Omak 
was  the  region  the  boy  had  often  referred  to 
in  his  talk  about  the  treasure,  although  he  had 
never  mentioned  the  lake  by  name. 

Early  in  the  morning  Jack  and  Lewis  were 
off  by  daylight,  each  with  a  great  packet  of 
provisions  on  his  back.  Frank  and  Harry  sat 
thoughtfully  by  the  fire  after  the  early  break- 
fast. Frank  began  laughing,  presently,  and 
then  burst  out: 

' '  Jack  thinks  he 's  foxy, ' '  he  roared.  ' '  "Won- 
der if  he  doesn't  know  that  I'm  on  to  his  game  t 
Wonder  if  he  thinks  I  don't  know  he's  gone  in 
there  in  search  of  the  ruined  temple?  Say, 
Harry,"  he  went  on,  "we're  going  in  there 
also!  We'll  get  a  guide  up  at  Alameda  and 
beat  them  to  it." 

"It's  a  fool  search!"  declared  Harry. 

"That  may  be,"  Frank  admitted.  "To  be 
honest  with  you,  I  haven't  much  faith  in  the 
existence  of  a  temple  in  there.  What  would  the 
East  Indians  want  to  come  over  here  for  to 
hide  their  gold  away  from  unscrupulous  rulers 
when  they  might  have  selected  one  of  the  South 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  189 

Sea  islands?  No,  kid,  I  don't  believe  a  word 
of  it!" 

"But " 

"Oh,  yes,  I  got  to  talking  that  way  and  kept 
it  up,  and  Jack  got  to  talking  the  other  way 
and  kept  that  up.  I'm  sure  he's  got  the  book 
his  father  says  Saxby  stole!  I've  seen  him 
studying  over  some  sort  of  volume  he  always 
hides  when  any  one  comes  near.  You  see,  we've 
both  been  lying  about  our  belief." 

"If  you  think  it  all  bunk,  why  do  you  want  to 
go  in  there?" 

"Just  to  get  ahead  of  Jack,  and  show  him 
he's  not  the  only  warm  baby  in  this  bunch," 
Frank  laughed. 

"All  right,"  Harry  chuckled.  "I'm  ready. 
We'll  leave  the  boat  up  river  and  go  after  them 
right  away." 

The  situation  was  explained  to  Ned  and  Jim- 
mie,  and  the  latter  sprang  out  of  bed  and  began 
dressing  in  haste.  Frank  and  Harry  grinned, 
but  said  nothing. 

"You  can't  lose  me,"  the  little  fellow  said. 

But  Ned  advised  against  Jimmie  going,  and 
the  lad  went  back  to  bed,  determination  still  in 
his  eyes. 

"You  just  wait,"  he  growled.  "I'm  going 
over  to  that  lake!  Think  I  come  out  here  to 


ISO  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOA1 

knit  frizzly  little  collars  an'  wear  pink  ribbons 
in  me  hair?" 

The  boys  were  off  before  noon,  and  Jimmie 
watched  them  go  almost  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
As  they  disappeared  down  the  river  a  shout 
went  up  from  the  straggling  street  and,  looking 
up,  Jimmie  saw  the  aeroplane  swinging  down 
from  the  sky. 

"If  that's  Leroy,"  the  boy  mused,  excitedly, 
"I'll  bet  them  fellers  won't  have  anything  on 
me!  There!  He's  going  to  land!  Now  for  it," 
and  the  boy  jumped  into  his  clothes  and  ran. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  191 


CHAPTER 

JACK  TAKES  A  COLD  BATH. 

If  you  look  at  the  map  of  the  west  end  of 
the  Colville  Indian  reservation  you  will  see  a 
yellow  splash,  which  indicates  that  the  makers 
•f  the  map  believe  that  section  to  be  good  grain 
country.  You  will  also  see  shadowy  lines  wind- 
ing around  on  the  yellow  splash,  which  lines 
indicate  that  the  country  is  hilly,  if  not  actu- 
ally mountainous.  There  are  no  towns  indi- 
cated by  the  makers  of  the  maps. 

Along  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia  there 
is  a  line  of  high  hills — they  do  not  call  them 
mountains  there — and  these  Jack  and  Lewis 
toiled  over  under  a  summer  sun  until  the  for- 
mer was  nearly  ready  to  drop  with  fatigue. 
When  they  gained  the  valley  on  the  opposite 
side  they  dropped  under  the  shelter  of  a  cliff 
and  wiped  the  sweat  from  their  faces. 

Before  them  lay  a  broken  country.  Far  off 
to  the  north,  beyond  the  locality  pointed  out 
as  the  bed  of  the  lake,  a  spur  of  lofty  mountains 
lifted,  seemingly,  to  the  sky.  Jack  got  out  his 
water  canteen  and  drank  to  the  health  of  th« 
summit! 


192  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"We're  coming  to  visit  you,  old  man!"  he 
shouted. 

Lewis  regarded  his  friend  with  a  curious 
smile. 

"I  knew  it!"  he  said. 

"Knew  what?"  demanded  Jack. 

"Knew  that  you  were  coming  in  here  in 
quest  of  the  temple  these  ginks  have  been 
imagining." 

"How  did  you  know?"  laughed  the  other. 
"I've  been  talking  right  against  the  theory  of 
the  temple!" 

"Yes;  but  you  like  to  talk  about  it!  Well, 
the  mountains  which  you  see  are  said  to  be  the 
ones  which  conceal  the  hidden  canyon  which  in 
turn  conceals  the  temple." 

"Have  you  ever  been  here  before?"  asked 
Jack. 

"Never,"  was  the  reply. 

"But  the  locality  has  been  frequently  trav- 
eled over?" 

"No;  I  think  not." 

"But  you  said  there  had  been  people  over 
there  looking  for  the  temple  ?" 

"Yes;  but  not  exactly.  You  see,  the  temple 
is  popularly  believed  to  have  been  built  within 
sight  of  the  lake." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  about  it?" 

"I  think  it  was  never  built!" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  193 

"You  may  be  right,"  Jack  admitted.  "I'm 
half  inclined  to  your  opinion,  yet  I've  started 
in  to  look  it  up,  and  so  I'm  going  to  find  it  if  it 
is  above  ground — and  my  curiosity  and  grub 
holdout!" 

"We  may  as  well  be  moving  on,"  Lewis  said, 
after  a  long  rest,  during  which  little  else  than 
the  hidden  temple  was  talked  about.  "  We  have 
a  short  distance  to  go,  if  you  figure  miles  as 
the  birds  fly,  but  a  long  ways  when  you  consider 
how  much  up-and-down  surface  we've  got  to 
climb." 

The  boys  did  not  make  good  progress  that 
day,  however,  for  Jack  was  new  to  mountain 
climbing  and  soon  wearied.  Lewis  loitered 
along,  hardy  and  apparently  tireless,  and  told 
the  boy  strange  tales  of  the  people  who  had 
visited  that  section  in  quest  of  the  temple  and 
the  mysterious  things  which  had  happened  to 
them.  There  had  been  a  tragedy,  too. 

"The  only  party  I  ever  heard  of  going  on 
into  Omak  mountains — the  spur  north  of  the 
lake  of  the  same  mountain — came  back  minus 
two  members,"  the  boy  explained,  watching 
Jack  intently.  Jack's  eyes  lighted  with  the 
lust  of  adventure,  and  that  was  all.  Lewis 
went  on : 

"They  reported  at  Alameda  that  they 
reached  the  foot  of  a  mountain  at  nightfall  and 


194  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

made  camp  there.  They  said  they  reached  the 
angle  of  a  deep  canyon,  running  into  the  moun- 
tain, and  arranged  to  follow  it  up  as  far  as 
possible  the  next  day.  The  next  day  never 
came  for  at  least  two  of  them." 

"What  happened?"  asked  Jack,  all  interest. 

"During  the  night,  they  said,  an  unearthly 
light,  like  a  burst  of  sulphurous  fire,  showed  in 
the  canyon.  The  two  who  advanced  toward  it 
never  came  back.  Their  companions  heard 
their  voices  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  they 
were  drowned  by  a  flow  of  weird  music.  Then 
a  great  crash  came,  and  the  canyon  was  only  a 
deserted  old  notch  in  the  mountain — no  flames, 
no  music,  no  investigators!" 

"Honest?"  asked  Jack. 

"That  is  the  way  they  told  the  story  when 
they  came  out." 

"But  they  found  the  bodies  of  their  com- 
panions?" 

"They  said  not." 

"And  they  are  in  the  mountains  still?" 

"I  believe  so." 

Jack  mused  a  moment  and  then  asked : 

"What  sort  of  people  made  up  that  party?" 

"Oh,  that's  different,"  laughed  Lewis.  "I  Ve 
been  anticipating  that  question.  Well,  the  party 
was  composed,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  of  two 
gentlemen  and  three  thieves." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  195 

"I  thought  so!  And  yet  no  one  investi- 
gated?" 

*  *  Oh,  yes,  there  was  an  inquiry.  An  attorney 
and  a  detective  came  on  from  New  York,  and 
the  whole  region  was  searched.  But,  by  the 
time  the  searchers  reached  Alameda,  the  three 
members  of  the  party  who  had  escaped  were 
nowhere  to  be  found." 

"Of  course  it  was  murder?"  Jack  asked. 

"Probably." 

"And  robbery.  The  men  were  wealthy?  And 
carried  plenty  of  money  and  valuable  jewelry 
on  their  persons.  Well?" 

"Yes ;  that  is  the  way  I  sized  it  up." 

"What  were  the  wealthy  men  doing  in 
there?"  asked  Jack  presently. 

"I  don't  know.  Looking  for  the  same  thing 
you  are  in  quest  of,  perhaps." 

"I'd  like  to  know,"  Jack  said,  impatiently, 
"how  many  people  there  are  in  the  world  who 
know  all  about  this  alleged  temple  ?  It  seems 
to  me  that,  it  takes  rank  with  the  treasure  of 
Captain  Kidd.  Everybody  knows  all  about  it, 
but  no  one  finds  it.  Look  here,"  the  boy  con- 
tinued, "were  the  two  men  murdered  because 
they  were  likely  to  discover  the  whereabouts 
of  the  ruins,  or  were  they  murdered  for  what 
valuables  they  had  on  their  persons?  What 
sort  of  men  were  the  three  thieves?" 


196  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"My  notion  is  that  they  were  murdered  for 
what  they  had  on  their  persons,  though  there 
are  those  who  believe  that  some  mysterious  in- 
fluence which  guards  the  temple  put  them  to 
death  and  destroyed  their  bodies." 

"The  more  I  hear  about  this  thing,"  Jack  de- 
clared, "the  more  I'm  determined  to  get  to  the 
bottom  of  it.  Fine  roast  I'll  have  on  Frank 
when  I  come  back  with  the  full  particulars!" 

That  night  the  boys  made  a  simple  camp  half 
way  to  the  lake.  The  next  night  they  camped 
on  the  north  side  of  the  body  of  water  lying 
between  the  river  and  the  mountain.  On  the 
third  night  they  built  their  cooking  fire  at  the 
angle  of  a  deep  canyon  running  into  the 
mountains. 

"We've  made  good  time,  better  than  I  antici- 
pated," Lewis  said,  as  they  fried  fish  and  bacon 
over  a  bed  of  coals.  "According  to  all 
accounts,  it  took  the  party  I  have  been  telling 
you  about  a  week  to  get  out." 

"Is  this  the  spot  where  they  camped?" 

"This  is  the  spot  where  they  said  they 
camped. ' ' 

"Then  up  there,"  pointing  up  the  narrow 
canyon,  "is  the  place  where  the  two  men  came 
to  then  death?" 

"Yes,-  that  is  the  place.  One  of  the  men 
who  came  in  with  the  lawver  and  fl^  ^ 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  197 

described  it  to  me.  I  brought  you  directly 
here  because  I  knew  you  would  want  to  make 
your  investigations  and  get  back  as  soon  as 
possible." 

"Right!"  Jack  cried.  "Well  make  our 
beds  here,  under  this  ledge,  and  sleep  like  lit- 
tle children!  Then,  tomorrow,  we'll  find  the 
temple." 

Jack  was  going  on  with  his  enthusiastic  talk 
when  Lewis  lifted  a  warning  hand. 

"Just  a  minute!"  he  said. 

Jack  stopped  with  a  word  on  his  tongue's 
end  and  stood  at  attention.  It  was  very  still 
there,  save  for  the  call  of  a  bird  high  up  on 
the  mountain.  The  sun  was  going  down  over 
a  jumble  of  lower  hills  to  the  west,  and  already 
a  dusky  mist  lay  over  the  canyon  into  which 
they  looked. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Jack,  in  a  moment. 

The  answer  came  from  the  canyon,  and  not 
from  the  lips  of  the  boy  of  whom  the  question 
had  been  asked. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ho!  Ho!" 

"There's  some  one  in  there!"  Jack  whis- 
pered. "I'll  bet  some  of  the  toughs  who 
attacked  the  merchant  are  hiding  here!" 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 

The  laugh  was  weird,  defiant.    Jack  reached 


198  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

for  his  automatic  and  advanced  a  step,  but 
Lewis  caught  him  by  the  arm. 

"Don't  go  in  there,"  he  said.  "I  half 
believe  the  thieves  arc  there." 

"Then  we  ought  to  get  them." 

"Alone?  Say,  but  you're  a  bad  actor!  What 
could  we  do  with  a  bunch  like  that?" 

"It  may  only  be  some  of  the  boys  doing  this 
for  a  joke,  or  the  boy  of  the  aeroplane.  They  '11 
laugh  at  us  if  we  back  out  now." 

"  I  'd  rather  face  a  joke  than  a  bullet ! ' '  Lewis 
said.  "Especially  when  I  have  no  chance  to 
return  the  compliment." 

The  boys  drew  away  from  the  entrance  to 
the  canyon  and  hastily  gathered  up  their  camp- 
ing articles  and  provisions.  It  was  quite  evi- 
dent that  they  could  not  remain  where  they 
were  through  the  night  and  rest  in  safety. 

"They'll  be  down  on  us  as  soon  as  we  get 
to  sleep,"  Lewis  said.  "Now,"  he  went  on, 
"the  man  I  told  you  about,  the  fellow  who 
came  in  here  with  the  lawyer  and  the  detective, 
told  me  of  a  place  they  found — a  cute  little 
place  where  we  can  pass  the  night  without 
listening  for  callers." 

'  i  I  wish  Ned  was  here, ' '  Jack  grumbled.  1 1 1 
don't  know  what  to  do  in  a  case  like  this.  He  'd 
know  mighty  quick  what  to  make  of  that  idi- 
otic laughter  in  there." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVEK.  199 

"Come  on!"  urged  Lewis,  and  they  walked 
through  the  gathering  twilight  to  the  north, 
keeping  close  to  the  foot  of  the  undulations 
which  led  sharply  to  the  greater  bulk  of  the 
mountain  itself. 

There  were  shrubs  and  vines  here  and  there 
in  crevices,  and  in  little  dips  they  passed  grass 
was  growing  luxuriously.  In  places  the  rock 
of  the  mountain  came  down  to  the  uneven 
ledge  they  were  following,  and  sometimes  che 
face  of  the  precipice  thus  formed  wore  a 
tangle  of  vines,  some  in  blossom,  some  only 
"scratchy,"  as  Jack  expressed  it,  but  all  bent 
on  hiding  the  face  of  the  rock  from  the  light 
of  the  sun. 

They  tramped  along  for  what  seemed  to 
Jack  to  be  three  hours,  and  then  Lewis  stopped 
at  a  sharp  angle,  looked  over  the  valley  for  a 
moment,  and  turned  into  a  thicket  at  the  base 
of  a  vertical  wall  of  rock. 

"Here  we  are,"  he  said.  "Walk  in  and 
make  yourself  at  home!" 

Jack  stepped  into  the  thicket,  passed  through 
a  mass  of  clinging  vines,  and  found  himself  in 
an  alcove  of  rock.  Lewis  sat  on  a  boulder  which 
had  fallen  from  the  roof,  and  grinned  as  he 
looked  around. 

"In  there,"  he  said,  presently,  "is  a  tunnel. 
I  guess  some  earthquake  made  it  a  million 


200  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

years  or  more  ago.  Anyway,  it  is  a  slip  in  the 
rock,  and  there 's  a  crack  we  can  follow  up  if  we 
have  to  hide.  That  is  one  fine  thing  about  this 
country.  You  can  find  plenty  of  hiding 
places !" 

Jack  peered  into  the  natural  tunnel  and  got 
out  his  searchlight. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  asked  Lewis. 

"See  what's  in  there." 

Lewis  stepped  out  to  the  entrance  of  the 
niche  in  which  they  stood  and  looked  in  the 
direction  of  the  canyon. 

"All  right,"  he  said,  turning  back. 

"What  did  you  do  that  for?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  wanted  to  know  if  we  were  being 
watched." 

"Anybody  in  sight?" 

"Too  dark  to  see,  but  I  could  have  heard 
voices.  Then,  you  know,  they  wouldn't  be 
crawling  along  in  the  darkness." 

"I  wish  I  knew  who  they  were,"  Jack  grum- 
bled. "Seems  as  if  we've  been  trailed  by 
unknowns  ever  since  we  started  on  our  motor 
boat  trip." 

The  boys  listened  a  short  time,  then  pro- 
ceeded along  the  tunnel,  which  wras  not  more 
than  a  yard  wide,  and  was  sometimes  so  low 
that  they  were  obliged  to  crawl  on  their  hands 
and  knees. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  201 

The  flashlight  revealed  only  bare  rock. 
There  had  been  a  readjustment  of  levels,  at 
some  distant  time,  and  the  rock  had  cracked 
there,  one  side  of  the  break  slipping  down  and 
tipping  away  to  the  west.  Such  freaks  of 
nature  are  not  at  all  rare  in  the  mountainous 
districts  of  the  world. 

After  proceeding  some  distance  the  boys 
heard  the  noise  of  running  water.  The  sound 
grew  louder  as  they  advanced,  and  when  at 
last  they  entered  a  chamber  in  the  rock  they 
felt  the  spray  of  a  waterfall  on  their  faces.  The 
flashlight  showed  a  channel  about  five  yards 
in  width  through  which  speeded  a  roaring 
torrent. 

The  chamber  in  which  the  boys  now  found 
themselves  was,  perhaps,  ten  paces  in  width 
and  twice  that  in  length,  the  latter  dimension 
following  the  break  in  the  rock.  Across  this 
curious  opening,  at  about  the  center,  dashed 
the  subterranean  stream,  the  surface  running 
a  couple  of  yards  below  the  lips  of  the  cut  it 
had  made  in  the  floor  of  the  cavern. 

Across  the  torrent  the  boys  could  see  a  dark 
spot  in  the  north  wall,  as  if  the  tunnel  they  had 
followed  was  continued  on  that  side. 

Jack  turned  his  flashlight  about  the  place 
with  acute  interest.  In  Mexico  he  had  come 
upon  something  of  the  kind,  and  he  surmised 


202  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

that  the  apartment  he  saw  was  not  the  only 
one  under  the  mountain.  The  same  cause  that 
had  produced  this  one  might  well  have  pro- 
duced others. 

But  the  walls  of  the  chamber  seemed  to  be 
smooth  and  unbroken.  Lewis  watched  him  for 
a  moment  and  then  pointed  across  the  channel. 

"When  we  get  over  there,"  he  said,  "we 
may  discover  something  worth  while." 

Jack  regarded  his  friend  with  inquiring  eyes. 

"How  are  we  going  to  get  across  ?"  he  asked. 

Lewis  took  a  long  rope  from  his  waist  and 
held  it  up  with  a  grin. 

"I  thought  we  might  need  it,  '  he  said. 
"Now,  you  ain't  afraid  of  getting  wet,  are 
you?" 

"I  should  say  not,"  Jack  replied,  but  he 
looked  into  the  dark  water  below  with  a  little 
shiver.  "What's  the  proposition?" 

"This  chamber,"  Lewis  continued,  "is  as 
far  as  explorers  have  ever  gone.  I  did  not  tell 
you  this  before,  but  this  place  is  quite  well 
known — that  is,  its  existence  is  pretty  well 
known.  But  no  one,  so  far  as  is  known,  how- 
ever, has  ever  crossed  this  stream.  It  is 
believed  that  this  cavern  ends  the  tunnel." 

"Well,  it  doesn't,"  Jack  said,  turning  his 
flashlight  on  the  dark  spot  in  the  wall  across 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  203 

the  torrent.  "Come  here  and  you  can  see  the 
light  penetrating  an  opening  in  the  rock."' 

"A  torch  wouldn't  supply  that  sharp  point 
of  light,"  Lewis  remarked,  "and  so  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  tunnel  has  never  been  sus- 
pected. Now,  we  will  take  our  evening  bath, 
if  you  have  no  objections." 

"How?"  asked  Jack.  "You  make  the  cold 
chills  run  up  and  down  my  back  by  the  very 
mention  of  going  in  there." 

He  threw  a  stone  in,  but  it  was  swept  down 
stream  and  under  the  exit  arch  by  the  rapid 
current. 

"No  one  knows  how  deep  it  is,"  he  said. 

"We  don't  care,"  Lewis  replied.  "We're 
going  to  take  off  our  clothes,  tie  them  up  in  neat 
bundles  and  toss  them  across.  Then  we're 
going  to  tie  this  rope  to  that  point  of  rock  at 
the  east  and  hang  to  it  while  the  current 
swings  us  across." 

' '  It  won 't, ' '  Jack  ob  j ected.  *  *  It  will  hold  us 
where  the  pressure  is  strongest,  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream." 

"I'm  going  to  try  it,  anyway,"  Lewis  said, 
tying  the  rope  to  the  rock  pointed  out  and 
trailing  the  length  of  it  into  the  water. 

Jack  watched  him  with  a  smile  on  his  face. 

"You're  all  right!"  he  said,  presently,  "but 
how  are  we  going  to  get  back?" 


204  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

"Never  thought  of  that!"  said  the  other, 
scratching  his  head. 

"Easy!"  Jack  laughed.  "Make  two  ropes 
out  of  that  one  and  take  one  with  us." 

"Sure,"  said  Lewis. 

After  cutting  the  rope  and  seeing  that  the 
part  attached  to  the  rock  was  firm,  the  boys 
laid  aside  the  second  piece  to  use  in  fastening 
their  clothes  in  a  compact  bundle. 

"Now,"  said  Lewis,  "you  hold  the  light  and 
I'll  catch  hold  of  the  rope  and  jump  in,  after 
I  strip.  When  I  get  across  you  put  the  search- 
light into  the  bundle  and  throw  it  across.  1*11 
light  a  match  so  you  can  see  where  to  throw 
it.  Then  you  come." 

"Wait!"  Jack  advised.  "What  about  eats? 
I'm  going  back  to  the  niche  in  the  wall  of  rock 
and  make  some  bacon  sandwiches.  We  may 
be  in  there  quite  a  long  time." 

"All  right — only  hurry." 

In  a  short  time  the  boy  was  back  with  a  lib- 
eral supply  of  bread  and  fried  fish  and  bacon. 
These  were  closely  wrapped  and  packed  in  with 
the  clothes,  which  were  soon  removed,  and  then 
Lewis,  who  had  been  holding  the  flashlight, 
extended  it  toward  Jack. 

"I'll  go  now,"  he  said. 

"Nix!"  cried  Jack,  with  a  provoking  laugh. 
"Me  for  the  river  first." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  205 

Before  Lewis  could  protest  the  boy  was  in 
the  current,  clinging  to  the  rope.  He  kicked 
out  sturdily  for  the  other  side,  but  the  current 
was  swift,  and  Lewis  saw  him  drawn  down 
to  the  full  length  of  the  rope  as  his  hands 
slipped  on  the  wet  hemp. 

Then,  in  a  moment,  the  swimmer  disap- 
peared under  the  arch  which  served  as  an  exit 
for  the  turbulent  waters.  Lewis  shouted,  but 
no  answer  came.  The  rope  was  still  drawn 
taut,  however,  and  the  boy  took  hope  from  the 
fact. 

Jack  must  still  be  clinging  to  the  end  of  it, 
and  might  draw  himself  out  if  he  had  not  been 
weakened  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  walls 
of  the  outlet. 


206  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  QUEST  OF  THE  SKY  MAN. 

When  Jimmie  reached  the  open  street,  his 
head  still  bandaged  and  his  clothes  only  half 
on,  he  found  a  group  of  men  watching  the  aero- 
plane. The  propeller  was  now  still.  There 
was  dead  silence  as  the  great  machine,  with  the 
dipping  swoop  of  a  gull  after  a  leaping  fish 
in  the  water,  hovered  over  the  low  houses  and 
finally  lighted  in  the  road  a  few  rods  away 
with  neatness  and  precision. 

The  men  rushed  forward  as  the  driver,  a  tall 
lad  of  perhaps  eighteen,  with  a  slender,  sinewy 
form,  dark  hair  and  eyes  and  a  wholesome  face, 
stepped  down,  but  he  motioned  them  back. 

"Kindly  keep  away  from  the  machine,"  he 
said. 

Jimmie  rushed  forward  with  a  grin  which 
seemed  to  obliterate  every  feature  of  his  face. 

"Leroy !"  he  cried. 

"The  same!"  replied  the  boy.  "I  came 
down  to  see  you,  Jimmie,"  he  added.  "Want 
to  take  a  little  ride?" 

Jimmie  jumped  for  the  machine.  As  he  did 
so  Ned  came  out  of  the  house  where  he  was 
stopping  and  called  out  to  Leroy : 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  207 

"Don't  take  that  kid  away,  Sam!  He  isn't 
fit." 

"Are  you?"  asked  Leroy. 

1  i  Sure ! ' '  replied  Ned.  l '  I  'm  dying  for  a  ride 
through  the  air." 

"Let  her  go!"  Jhnmie  urged,  fearful,  now, 
that  he  was  going  to  lose  his  promised 
adventure.  "Ned's  too  sick  to  go." 

"I  can  take  you  both,"  Leroy  said.  "Of 
course  it  will  be  something  of  a  load,  and  the 
kid  will  have  to  be  held,  like  a  baby,  but  he 
doesn't  weigh  more  than  a  pound,  so  it  will 
be  all  right." 

The  crowd  looked  enviously  on  as  Ned 
climbed  aboard  the  machine,  took  Jimmie  in 
his  lap,  and  the  great  bird  started  away,  slip- 
ping over  the  smooth  road  for  a  few  yards,  and 
then  vaulting  into  the  air. 

"What  does  all  this  mean?"  asked  Ned  as 
the  little  landing  town  was  left  in  the  distance. 
"Why  haven't  you  come  to  us  before?" 

"Oh,  I  made  a  mystery  of  it  just  for  the  fun 
of  the  thing, ' '  laughed  Leroy.  ' '  Then,  you  see, 
I  wanted  to  know  that  I  wasn't  here  on  any 
fool  errand  before  I  told  what  I  was  doing." 

"Did  you  find  it?"  asked  Ned. 

"Find  what?" 

"The  temple." 

*  *  Temple  nothing ! ' '  Leroy  exclaimed.    "  I  'm 


208  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

after  something  more  valuable  to  me  than  any 
old  temple." 

"What  did  you  try  to  send  us  back  home 
for?"  asked  Jimmie,  scornfully. 

"I  knew  you  wouldn't  go,"  laughed  Leroy. 

"You're  a  nice  Boy  Scout,"  Jimmie  said, 
then,  "to  show  signals  of  distress  and  duck 
away." 

"I  squared  that  with  another  smoke  column, 
didn  'ill"  asked  the  driver.  ' '  But  I  can 't  tell 
you  all  about  the  trip  until  we  get  where  we 
can  talk  without  making  so  much  effort.  By 
and  by  we'll  come  to  a  valley,  across  the  Colum- 
bia, and  then  I'll  drop  down  and  we'll  hold  a 
talkfest!" 

They  reached  the  little  valley  before  many 
minutes  had  passed,  and  the  Nelson,  as  the 
aeroplane  was  called,  dropped  down  on  a 
grassy  plain. 

"Now,"  Leroy  said,  "I  know  why  you  are 
here.  I  learned  all  about  your  trip  before  I 
left  New  York,  so  you  won't  have  to  spin  any 
long  stories.  I  suppose  I  shouldn't  have  come 
if  you  had  not  started,  for  I  wouldn't  have 
taken  up  this  enterprise  alone,  and  I  was  cer- 
tain of  your  assistance  as  soon  as  you  reached 
this  point." 

"Of  course,"  Ned  said,  wondering  what 
Leroy  could  have  in  mind. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  209 

"You  will  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  what 
my  mission  up  here  is,"  the  boy  went  on,  "but, 
whether  I  succeed  in  it  or  not,  I  want  you  to 
believe  what  I  tell  you  is  the  exact  truth." 

"Sure!"  Jimmie  said. 

"You  remember  the  Leroy  embezzlement 
case,  a  year  ago?"  asked  the  boy. 

Ned  recalled  the  case,  which  had  puzzled  the 
detectives  of  two  continents. 

"Yes,"  he  said.  "The  newspapers  said 
Richard  Leroy  stole  half  a  million  and  got 
away  with  it." 

"Well,  he  didn't." 

"Didn't  get  away  with  it?" 

"Didn't  steal  it." 

"Oh,"  said  Ned. 

"It  looked  bad  for  him,"  Leroy  went  on, 
"and  so  he  ran  away." 

"I  remember." 

"And  came  up  here." 

"Say!"  Jimmie  began,  but  Ned  checked 
him. 

"Came  up  here  and  hid  himself  in  the  moun- 
tains— came  with  a  trusted  friend  and  sent  his 
guides  back,  loaded  with  presents,  to  report 
his  death  in  the  hills." 

"And  so  he  is  believed  to  be  dead?" 

* '  Yes ;  an  attorney  and  a  detective  were  sent 
on  from  New  York — an  attorney  for  the  bank 


210  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

and  a  detective  from  the  Pinkerton  office.  They 
never  found  the  two  men — never  found  a  trace 
of  them.  They  never  even  found  the  guides, 
who,  by  the  way,  were  suspected  of  murdering 
the  men." 

"And  this  Richard  Leroy  is— 

"My  brother!" 

1 1 1  see, ' '  Ned  said  slowly.    * i  And  now  ? ' ' 

"I  am  up  here  to  take  him  back  to  New 
York." 

"Acquitted  of  all  blame?" 

"Yes;  the  president  of  the  bank  stole  the 
money.  He  confessed  when  he  faced  death 
not  long  ago." 

"I  must  have  missed  that — never  saw  that 
in  the  newspapers." 

"It  was  never  printed  in  the  newspapers, 
and  never  will  be.  My  brother  goes  back  to  his 
old  position  in  the  bank,  and  the  president 
retires.  It  is  a  part  of  the  bargain  that  the 
president's  crime  is  not  to  be  given  out  to  the 
officers  of  the  law  nor  to  the  newspapers." 

"He  has  made  restitution?" 

"Oh,  yes,  what  restitution  he  can  make  has 
been  made.  He  has  restored  the  money,  but 
he  can  never  restore  the  mother  who  died 
because  of  her  son's  alleged  disgrace.  I  feel 
like  murdering  him!  Suppose  Dick  is  dead? 
Suppose  he  has  been  devoured  by  wild  beasts  ? 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  2H 

Suppose  he  has  left  the  country,  never  to 
inform  us  of  his  whereabouts?" 

"I  think,"  Ned  replied,  "that  you'll  find 
him  up  here  somewhere.  He  came  here  to  hide 
until  his  innocence  could  be  established?" 

"Yes;  and  now  I  have  come  for  him." 

"Do  you  know  where  to  look  for  him?" 

"Not  exactly.  The  men  who  took  my  brother 
and  Dunlop,  his  friend,  into  this  country  can- 
not be  found  now,  but  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  they  are  located  in  one  of  those 
valleys  over  there,"  pointing  beyond  the  snow- 
capped peak  of  the  elevation  beyond  the  lake. 

"You  have  already  been  in  there?"  asked 
Ned. 

"Yes;  but  I  have  failed.  I  hope,  with  your 
assistance,  to  be  more  successful  on  this  trip. 
Shall  we  be  moving  ? ' ' 

Ned  thought  over  the  situation  for  a  moment 
and  said: 

"There  are  four  boys  in  there  somewhere,  in 
two  parties,  and  I'd  like  to  get  on  the  ground 
without  their  knowledge." 

"That  will  be  all  right,"  Leroy  replied.  "I 
can  sail  the  Nelson  by  moonlight  or  starlight 
as  well  as  by  sunlight.  We'll  wait  until  dusk, 
if  you  think  best,  and  come  into  the  spur  from 
the  north." 

1 ' That  will  be  fine !"  Jimmie  burst  out.   "I'd 


212  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

like  to  drop  down  on  one  of  their  heads !  They 
wouldn't  let  me  go  with  'em!" 

Leroy  had  a  bag  of  provisions  with  him, 
and  the  boys  made  a  hearty  supper  before 
taking  to  the  air  again. 

"Are  you  going  to  show  lights  over  the 
mountain,  and  so  attract  their  attention?" 
asked  Ned,  as  they  started  away. 

"If  he  does,"  Jimmie  interrupted,  "he'll  get 
a  piece  of  lead  in  his  machine.  The  men  that 
robbed  the  store  are  hiding  in  there.  I  heard 
one  of  the  officers  at  Alameda  say  so." 

"That's  a  fact,"  Ned  agreed.  "I  never 
thought  of  that." 

"In  that  case,"  Leroy  said,  "we'd  better 
come  down  in  some  valley  shut  in  by  the  hills 
and  look  quietly  about  until  morning.  I  wish 
I  knew  of  such  a  place." 

"Why  didn't  you  pick  up  a  guide?"  asked 
Jimmie. 

"I  had  a  man  who  said  he  knew  all  about 
this  country,  up  to  a  week  ago,  but  he  ran  off 
and  left  me." 

"What  sort  of  a  man  ?"  asked  Ned,  a  sudden 
suspicion  in  his  voice. 

"Short,  heavy,  dark,  bull-necked  chap." 

"That  was  Saxby,"  Ned  exclaimed.  "That 
is  a  trick  he  played  to  get  in  here.  You  found 
him  at  Nelson?" 


10I.DMBIA  RIVER.  213 

ON  THE  COL. 


the  reply,  "I  found  him  at  Nel- 
"Yes"was6  claimed  to  know  a11  ab°ut  the 


and         ^T  country.   He  took  me  in  nicely, 
rh-er  that     *  *  "">•  ««  tt  all,  as  I 


but  I  suppose  t^mal>ded  references  of  him." 
should  teve  demily  f  ?w  any,,^no,wl!df  o£  the 

"Did  he  really  g<*  T°ver?    asked  Ned- 
districts  vou  traveled^  Leroy'  w!*  fn  enSaging 

"Well,"  answered  L^fess  a  fairly  good  book 

smile,  "he  seemed  to  posstwhefe       C°Uld  have 
knowledge  of  it,  though  wery  toTme'    ™™  X 

procured  that  is  a  myster]  hf3  T  so,ught  books 
first  thought  of  coming  up  hend  found  very  few 
describing  the  territory  and  , 
of  them."  Addled  in  Ned's 

"I  guess,"  Jimmie,  stiU  huathis  Sa^b7  Per- 
lap,  like  a  baby,  interrupted,  "thh<  !    Don>t 


son  is  next  to  himself  most  of  the?™  ?"™  before 
you  think  we'll  hear  more  froni^          <<TT 
we  get  out  of  the  state?"  he  asked' e(L 

" Without   doubt,"  Ned  replied^ the 
probably  making  for  some  point  dowie 
where  he  believes  the  hidden  treasure?" 
undoubtedly  believes  that  we  are  afterha^  J01 
prize.    I  have  an  idea,  too,  that  he  h£  tlie  mur" 
forces  with  the  men  who  committed  tl 
der  at  Alameda."  :bar  and 

"  It  will  be  a  warm  old  time  when  AkbP^' 
Saxby  get  into  action!"  chuckled  the  boy. 
I  ope  I  shall  be  there  to  see  it !" 


212  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MC 

like  to  drop  down  on  one  of  their 
wouldn't  let  me  go  with  'em ! 

Leroy  had  a  bag  of  provisi-  mention  of 
and  the  boys  made  a  hearty  ^ituation  with 
taking  to  the  air  again. 

"Are  you  going  to  show     hostile  forceg 

mountain,  and  so  attract  trhere  .g  g         ^ 

asked  Ned,  as  they  starte^  of  cutthroats> 

"If  heploes,"  Jimmiejse  gide  partner  ig  in 

a  piece  of  lead  in  his )  ig  gtm  in  the  ring?  and 

robbed  the  store  areieveg>  possibly?  all  point_ 

one  of  the  officers  r    buried  gold!     It  really 

"That's  a  f aeJ3uld  be  plenty  of  firew0rks 

thought  of  that.' 

"In  that  cai  Jimmie,  "an'  don't  forget 
come  down  in  >0y  scouts,  each  one  tryin'  to 
and  look  quv  ,Wy  temple  first — three  parties, 
I  knew  of  sr  s  bunch!" 

"Why  d:'  mch,'  as  you  call  it,"  suggested 

Jimmie.     Luest  of  a  brother  who  came  here 

"I  had^wait  the  slow  motions  of  justice." 

this  court  we're  headed  for  the  place  where 

and  lefj  is  supposed  to  be,"  insisted  Jimmie, 

''"WJ"  3  bound  to  get  to  it  if  there's  any- 

suspic  jie  sort  in  these  mountains." 

"SI  o  boys  laughed  at  the  little  fellow's 

'"Jon,  but  they  both  knew  that  it  was 

is  a  o  come  true.    They  were  on  the  ground, 

hirjrtainly  would  not  take  their  departure 

out  some  knowledge  of  the  mysterious 

iple,  if  anything  of  the  kind  was  there. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  213 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "I  found  him  at  Nel- 
son, and  he  claimed  to  know  all  about  the 
Columbia  river  country.  He  took  me  in  nicely, 
but  I  suppose  that  I'm  to  blame  for  it  all,  as  I 
should  have  demanded  references  of  him." 

"Did  he  really  show  any  knowledge  of  the 
districts  you  traveled  over?"  asked  Ned. 

"Well,"  answered  Leroy,  with  an  engaging 
smile,  "he  seemed  to  possess  a  fairly  good  book 
knowledge  of  it,  though  where  he  could  have 
procured  that  is  a  mystery  to  me.  When  I 
first  thought  of  coming  up  here  I  sought  books 
describing  the  territory  and  found  very  few 
of  them." 

"I  guess,"  Jimmie,  still  huddled  in  Ned's 
lap,  like  a  baby,  interrupted,  "this  Saxby  per- 
son is  next  to  himself  most  of  the  time !  Don't 
you  think  we'll  hear  more  from  him  before 
we  get  out  of  the  state?"  he  asked  Ned. 

"Without  doubt,"  Ned  replied.  "He  is 
probably  making  for  some  point  down  the  river 
where  he  believes  the  hidden  treasure  to  be,  and 
undoubtedly  believes  that  we  are  after  the  same 
prize.  I  have  an  idea,  too,  that  he  has  joined 
forces  with  the  men  who  committed  the  mur- 
der at  Alameda." 

"It  will  be  a  warm  old  tune  when  Akbar  and 
Saxby  get  into  action!"  chuckled  the  boy.  "I 
hope  I  shall  be  there  to  see  it !" 


214  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

Leroy  looked  puzzled  at  the  mention  of 
Akbar,  and  Ned  explained  the  situation  with 
regard  to  that  persistent  rascal. 

"And  so,"  mused  Leroy,  "the  hostile  forces 
are  gathering!  Let  us  see.  There  is  Saxby, 
probably  associated  with  a  band  of  cutthroats, 
then  there  is  Akbar,  whose  side  partner  is  in 
jail  in  Alameda  but  who  is  still  in  the  ring,  and 
there  are  the  river  thieves,  possibly,  all  point- 
ing for  this  alleged  buried  gold!  It  really 
seems  as  if  there  would  be  plenty  of  fireworks 
directly." 

"Yes,"  grinned  Jimmie,  "an'  don't  forget 
two  parties  of  Boy  Scouts,  each  one  tryin'  to 
get  to  this  shadowy  temple  first — three  parties, 
if  you  count  this  bunch!" 

"But  this  *  bunch,'  as  you  call  it,"  suggested 
Ned,  "is  in  quest  of  a  brother  who  came  here 
long  ago  to  await  the  slow  motions  of  justice." 

"Yes,  but  we're  headed  for  the  place  where 
the  temple  is  supposed  to  be,"  insisted  Jimmie, 
"and  we're  bound  to  get  to  it  if  there's  any- 
thing of  the  sort  in  these  mountains." 

The  two  boys  laughed  at  the  little  fellow's 
prediction,  but  they  both  knew  that  it  was 
likely  to  come  true.  They  were  on  the  ground, 
and  certainly  would  not  take  their  departure 
without  some  knowledge  of  the  mysterious 
temple,  if  anything  of  the  kind  was  there. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  215 

4 'When  did  you  see  this  man  Saxby  last!" 
asked  Ned,  presently.  "I  have  an  idea  that  he 
left  you  because  he  found  congenial  spirits.  It 
does  not  seem  to  me  as  if  he  would  leave  you 
when  you  were  headed  toward  the  very  point  he 
sought,  and  then  try  to  make  his  way  to  the 
place  alone.  That  is  why  I  suggested  that  he 
might  have  joined  forces  with  the  men  who 
murdered  the  merchant  at  Alameda." 

"I  saw  him  last  when  not  far  from  Ala- 
meda, ' '  Leroy  replied.  '  '  He  left  the  aeroplane 
on  the  plea  of  getting  a  shot  at  a  deer  we  saw 
in  the  forest,  and  never  came  back.  After 
waiting  an  hour  or  more  for  him,  I  sailed 
away.  Later  I  saw  him  with  four  very  rough- 
looking  fellows,  skulking  in  a  thicket  near  the 
town." 

"Then  that  settles  that!"  Jimmie  remarked. 
"He's  with  that  bunch  of  thieves,  all  right 
enough!  With  four  men  to  help  him,  he's 
likely  to  make  things  hum  before  the  officers 
get  him!" 

"Yes,"  Ned  replied,  "there  is  sure  to  be 
trouble.  I'm  afraid  that  Jack  and  Lewis  or 
Frank  and  Harry  will  encounter  the  outlaws. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  well  for  us  to  drop  down 
into  some  quiet  valley  and  look  about." 

"Very  well,"  Leroy  replied,  and  in  a 
moment  the  great  bird  was  shooting  off  to  tha 


216  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

north,  to  the  east  of  the  range  of  mountains.  It 
was  dusk  now,  and  the  paint  on  the  aeroplane 
was  of  that  neutral  color  which  renders  objects 
upon  which  it  is  used  indistinct  even  at  short 
distances,  so  the  lads  were  not  afraid  of  being 
seen  by  those  below  them.  Besides,  the  motors 
of  the  Nelson  worked  almost  noiselessly,  so 
there  was  little  or  no  danger  to  be  feared  from 
the  outlaws. 

After  winging  its  way  to  the  north  for  some 
distance,  the  great  airship  wheeled  and  came 
slowly  back  to  the  south,  over  the  range  now, 
with  the  boys  searching  the  surface  below  for 
a  suitable  landing  place. 

What  they  sought  was  a  place  of  conceal- 
ment for  the  ship  as  well  as  a  desirable  level 
for  landing  purposes.  It  was  their  intention 
now  to  leave  the  machine  under  guard  of  one 
of  their  number  and  search  the  valleys  during 
the  night,  when  the  light  of  cooking  fires  might 
readily  be  seen,  and  when  voices  were  more 
likely  to  be  heard. 

Leroy  had  already,  apparently  before  the 
arrival  of  the  outlaws,  explored  the  entire 
region  from  his  aeroplane  without  finding  a 
trace  of  the  two  men  he  was  seeking.  He  had 
sent  out  signals  which  he  was  sure  his  brother 
would  have  answered  if  he  had  seen  them,  but 
no  hint  of  the  men  had  he  found. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  217 

Before  seeking  Ned,  whom  he  had  followed 
and  serenaded  in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  he  had 
about  abandoned  hope  of  discovering  the 
whereabouts  of  his  brother,  but  now,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Boy  Scouts,  he  was  certain 
that  he  would  be  able  to  accomplish  the  task 
he  had  come  there  to  perform. 

After  a  time  the  boys  came  to  a  valley,  very 
dim  in  the  uncertain  light,  which  seemed  broad 
and  level  enough  at  the  bottom  to  furnish  a 
safe  landing  place,  so  Leroy  spiraled  down 
until  he  had  a  good  view  of  it.  There  was  long 
grass  growing  in  some  parts  of  the  secluded 
nook,  and  vines  and  bushes  in  other  parts,  but 
there  was  a  clear  spot  in  the  center  which 
received  the  rubber-tired  wheels  of  the  ma- 
chine without  noise  or  risk,  and  the  lads  were 
soon  out  on  the  ground. 

Jimmie,  who  now,  under  the  excitement  of 
the  moment,  seemed  to  be  as  well  and  strong 
as  ever,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  his  head 
was  still  bandaged,  at  once  darted  off  on  a  tour 
of  investigation.  He  had  heard  Ned  and  Leroy 
talking  of  leaving  someone  on  guard,  and  was 
suspicious  that  he  would  be  the  one  chosen  for 
that  duty,  so  he  took  advantage  of  the  first 
busy  moments  after  the  landing  and  disap- 
peared in  the  darkness. 

The  valley  where  the  Nelson  had  landed 


218  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

small ;  the  boy  soon  came  to  a  stiff  slope  which 
gave  promise  of  being  a  fine  observatory,  and 
so  he  began  the  climb.  He  was  still  weak, 
however,  and  often  stopped  to  rest.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  he  heard,  quite  distinctly,  the 
murmur  of  running  water. 

He  looked  in  every  direction  and  listened,  but 
could  see  no  stream  making  its  way  down  the 
face  of  the  mountain.  Mystified  at  what  he 
heard,  yet  unable  to  solve  the  puzzle,  he  was 
preparing  to  climb  still  higher  when  he  came 
to  an  opening  in  the  side  of  the  slope.  He 
stepped  inside,  and  then  the  location  of  the 
running  stream  was  no  longer  a  mystery. 

The  din  of  the  waters  increased  as  he 
advanced  into  the  narrow  tunnel  in  the  rock, 
and  presently  he  distinguished  a  vanishing 
gleam  of  light  in  the  distance.  Then  human 
voices  reached  his  ears,  and,  surmising  that  he 
had  come  upon  the  camp  of  the  outlaws,  he 
crouched  down  to  await  the  next  act  in  the 
strange  drama. 

He  wished  for  a  moment  that  Ned  had 
accompanied  him,  then  the  glory  of  doing 
something  important  "all  by  his  lonesome," 
as  he  put  it,  stimulated  his  flagging  courage, 
and  he  awaited  the  unknown  with  a  brave 
heart. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVEE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  BLACK  BEAR  IN  A  CAGE. 

Lewis,  standing  in  the  cavern,  at  the  lip  of 
the  rushing  stream,  waited  for  what  seemed 
to  his  excited  imagination  a  long  time  before 
the  face  of  his  chum  again  appeared  above  the 
foaming  waters.  He  had  known  Jack  only  a 
short  time,  yet  the  two  lads  were  so  similar 
in  their  tastes  that  a  great  friendship  had 
sprung  up  between  them. 

In  a  moment  Lewis  saw  that  Jack's  hands 
had  slipped  on  the  wet  hemp,  and  that  he  was 
almost  at  the  very  end  of  the  rope,  trying  to 
draw  himself  up  hand-over-hand.  This  was 
a  difficult  task  in  the  face  of  that  swirling  tor- 
rent, and  Lewis  motioned  that  he  would  draw 
up  the  line,  which  he  did,  much  to  the  relief  of 
the  half -drowned  boy. 

Jack  was  shivering  when  he  grasped  Lewis' 
hand  and  was  drawn  out  on  the  side  from 
which  he  had  entered  the  stream,  but,  after 
wrapping  himself  in  his  coat  for  a  few 
moments,  he  was  ready  for  another  trial. 

" That's  an  uncanny  place,  that  tunnel  the 
water  drew  me  into,"  he  said.  "I  thought  of 
about  every  mean  thing  I  ever  did  while 


220  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

strangling  in  the  dark,  with  the  current  pound- 
ing against  the  top  of  my  head.  There  are 
fish  in  there,  too,  and  they  banged  against  my 
face  like  slimy  snakes  as  they  were  swept  down 
stream.  Ugh!" 

"Well,"  Lewis  advised,  "don't  take  so  much 
rope  next  time.  Take  hold  close  up  and  let  it 
out  a  little  as  you  kick  yourself  across.  If  you 
do  your  very  best,  the  chances  are  that  you'll 
only  reach  the  other  shore  close  to  the  outlet." 

Jack  considered  this  very  good  advice,  and 
on  the  next  trial  succeeded  in  getting  across 
and  climbing  up  out  of  the  water,  his  teeth 
chattering  with  the  chill  of  it. 

"Say,"  he  called  across  to  Lewis,  "you'll 
have  to  throw  me  some  matches.  I  had  some 
in  a  waterproof  box,  but  I  lost  it  in  scrambling 
out  of  the  drink. " 

Lewis  felt  in  all  his  pockets,  then  went 
through  them  again,  but  ended  by  shaking  his 
head  gravely. 

"I  haven't  got  any  more  matches  than  a 
robin,"  he  said.  "I'll  have  to  toss  the  search- 
light across,  and  you  must  be  dead  sure  you 
catch  it.  We'd  be  in  a  deuce  of  a  mess  in  here 
without  any  light." 

"Well,"  Jack  called  back,  "toss  my  clothes 
over  first.  I'm  freezing.  Then,  as  soon  as  I 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  221 

get  dressed  you  can  pitch  the  light  over.  "I'll 
catch  it,  all  right." 

Lewis  did  as  requested,  and  Jack  was  soon 
dressed.  The  former  then  threw  his  own 
clothes  across  and  was  about  to  send  the  flash- 
light after  them  when  he  paused  and 
suggested : 

"Perhaps  I'd  better  tie  a  string  to  it,  so  if 
anything  goes  wrong  we  won't  lose  it." 

"Oh,  I'll  have  no  trouble  in  catching  it," 
Jack  laughed.  '  '  Let  her  come ! ' ' 

Lewis  gave  the  important  article  a  toss 
toward  Jack's  outstretched  hands,  not  more 
than  eighteen  feet  away,  and  the  latter  stepped 
to  one  side  to  catch  it,  the  throw  not  having 
been  a  direct  one.  But  Jack's  foot  rocked  on 
a  loose  stone  as  it  descended,  his  ankle  turned, 
and  down  he  went,  trying  as  he  fell  to  seize  the 
flashlight  as  it  passed  the  very  tips  of  his 
fingers. 

But  he  did  not  quite  reach  it.  The  precious 
electric  darted  past  his  hand  and  struck  the 
wall  back  of  him.  There  was  a  cry  of  alarm 
from  Lewis,  a  crash  of  breaking  glass,  and  then 
the  light  disappeared.  A  second  later  Jack 
heard  the  now  worthless  thing  roll  slowly  down 
the  declivity  on  which  he  stood  and  drop  into 
the  stream. 

"Good  thing  I  got  my  clothes  over,"  Lewis 


222  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

said,  with  a  forced  laugh.  "I  can  get  over  in 
the  dark  easily.  Start  up  a  whistle,  so  I'll 
know  where  you  are.  My!  It's  as  dark  as  a 
pocket  in  here!" 

* '  Wait ! ' '  Jack  exclaimed.  * '  Don 't  come  over 
here.  We've  got  to  go  back !  We  can  never  go 
on  without  a  light.  There  may  be  breaks  in 
the  floor  of  the  tunnel,  and  we  would  be  drop- 
ping into  them  head  first.  Wait  until  I  get  my 
clothes  off  and  I'll  come  over." 

Lewis  seemed  to  be  studying  the  situation 
over,  for  he  made  no  reply  for  a  moment. 

"All  right!"  at  length  came  over  the  stream, 
but  the  voice  semed  hoarse  and  affected,  and 
not  at  all  like  that  of  the  lad  on  the  opposite 
bank. 

Jack  caught  the  strange  note  in  the  voice  and 
listened.  Above  the  din  of  the  waters  he  heard 
a  slight  shuffling  of  feet  straight  across.  That 
might  be  Lewis  pulling  at  the  rope,  or  it  might 

Jack  did  not  carry  out  the  thought,  for  a 
strangling  cry  came  out  of  the  darkness,  and 
he  knew. 

1  i  Lewis !   Lewis ! "  he  called. 

There  was  no  answer  from  the  opposite  side, 
but  it  seemed  to  the  listening  boy  that  the  cur- 
rent below  was  beating  against  an  obstruction 
which  had  not  existed  a  moment  before.  That 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  223 

would  mean  that  some  one  was  crossing  the 
river,  presumably  to  seize  him  just  as  Lewis 
might  have  been  taken. 

Grunts  and  sighs  of  exhaustion  now  came 
from  below,  showing  that  the  surmise  that 
some  one  was  crossing  by  means  of  the  rope 
was  correct,  and  Jack  stood  ready  to  help  the 
adventurous  one  back  into  the  water  as  soon 
as  he  should  attempt  to  land.  There  was  no 
doubt  in  his  mind  now  that  they  had  come  upon 
the  outlaws  who  were  being  pursued  by  the 
people  of  Alameda. 

In  that  case,  the  boy  thought,  Saxby  would 
probably  be  foremost  in  whatever  was  done — 
In  whatever  evil  and  vicious  plans  for  the  mur- 
der of  the  captive  might  be  made.  He  decided 
right  there  that  he  would  leave  his  mark  on 
the  party  before  being  taken. 

Presently  the  noises  in  the  water  ceased  for 
an  instant,  the  current  roared  more  fiercely, 
as  if  angry  at  an  additional  obstruction,  and 
then  a  despairing  cry  cut  the  air.  The  cry 
wavered,  smothered,  then  swept  away.  There 
was  only  one  deduction  to  be  drawn  from  all 
this :  The  swimmer  had  either  lost  hold  of  or 
broken  the  rope  and  had  been  swept  into  the 
outlet.  Jack  knew  that,  in  that  case,  nothing 
could  save  him. 

While  he  listened  in  the  darkness  for  fur- 


224  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

ther  sounds,  Lewis'  voice  came  from  over  the 
stream : 

"Oh,  Jack?" 

"All  right,  Chummie!" 

"Are  you  all  right?" 

"Surest  thing  in  the  world!  How  about 
you?" 

"I'm  tied  up  like  a  codfish  ready  for  ship- 
ment!" was  the  reply.  "I  guess  the  bogey 
man  got  me !  Did  you  give  him  a  clip  when  he 
tried  to  land?" 

"No;  I  think  he  broke  the  rope  and  went 
down  stream.  If  he  did,  that  is  the  last  of 
him." 

"Can  you  get  across?"  asked  Lewis,  then. 
"There  are  others  about.  They  have  gone 
around  the  cliffs  to  head  you  off  on  the  other 
side.  The  man  who  went  down  was  to  chase 
you  into  their  hands.  Come  on  across,  and 
we'll  get  out  of  this." 

"Can  you  catch  your  clothes  if  I  throw 
'em?" 

"No,  of  course  not;  I'm  all  corded  up. 
Bring  'em  over  with  you.'' 

"But  they  '11  get  wet." 

"Never  mmd  that;  they'll  soon  get  dry  when 
we  reach  the  warm  air  of  the  vallev  again. 
Hurry  up!  These  cords  cut  like  knives!'' 

"Wait  until  I  find  a  place  to  tie  this  rope," 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  225 

Jack  replied,  "and  I'll  be  right  over.  Gee, 
but  I  hate  to  take  another  dip  in  that  water!" 

But  he  did  finally  take  a  dip  in  the  water, 
and  came  out,  soaking  wet,  of  course,  on  the 
other  side,  with  his  chum's  clothes,  also  drip- 
ping, under  his  arm.  Feeling  about  in  the 
darkness,  he  found  Lewis,  cut  the  cords  which 
held  him,  and  the  two,  shaking  with  the  cold, 
started  along  the  winding  tunnel,  back  to  the 
open  air  of  the  valley. 

But  they  were  not  yet  rid  of  the  surprises 
of  the  subterranean  place.  As  they  reached  the 
narrow  slit  in  the  rock  through  which  they  had 
entered  the  chamber  Jack  turned  back  and 
strained  his  eyes  through  the  black  interior. 
Then,  with  a  quick  exclamation  of  surprise,  he 
seized  Lewis  by  the  arm. 

"Just  wait  a  second!"  he  cried.  "There's 
some  one  over  there  with  a  light.  Do  you  think 
the  men  who  started  around  the  cliffs  to  head 
me  off  have  had  time  to  get  back  under  the 
mountain?" 

"They  certainly  have  not  had  time  to 
clamber  over  the  heights  and  get  in  here," 
Lewis  replied.  "Besides,  that  is  a  flashlight! 
The  outlaws  had  nothing  of  the  kind.  There ! 
Listen  to  that!" 

"That"  was  the  long,  low  snarl  of  a  wolf  I 

"It  is  either  Jimmie  or  Ned!"  Jack  ex- 


226  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

claimed.  "But  how  the  dickens  did  he,  who- 
ever he  is,  get  in  here  ?  Why,  we've  made  good 
time,  and  have  just  gotten  in  ourselves !  Any- 
one who  followed  us  must  naturally  be  a  day 
behind  us!  Wait!" 

The  low,  long-drawn-out  growl  of  a  bear 
wavered  through  the  cavern,  and  then  the  flash- 
light across  the  stream  began  a  curious  acro- 
batic performance. 

1 '  What 's  that  about  ? ' '  asked  Lewis.  ' '  Seems 
the  lad  has  gone  crazy!" 

Jack  did  not  reply.  He  was  too  busy  reading 
"wig- wag"  signals. 

"One,"  he  said,  as  the  light  shot  up  a  ver- 
tical ray,  then  swung  off.  to  the  right,  embrac- 
ing an  arc  of  90  degrees,  and  returning  without 
pause  to  the  vertical  again,  "one  again.  Now, 
two,"  as  the  motion  was  repeated  on  the  left, 
"and  again  two.  That  combination  means  t  J*. 
Now,  can't  you  guess  who  it  is?"  he  added, 
giving  his  friend's  arm  a  pinch. 

"I  sure  can  guess,"  was  the  reply. 

"One,"  Jack  went  on,  as  the  light  wavered 
again.  *  *  That  is '  I '.  And  here 's  one,  two,  two, 
one.  That's  «M'.  'Jim'.  That's  enough,  kid," 
he  then  called  out.  * '  Come  on  across  the  brook. 
The  water's  fine!" 

"How?"  demanded  the  boy. 

Jack  and  his  friend  retraced  their  steps  and 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  227 

explained  to  the  little  fellow  that  he  would  have 
to  take  hold  of  the  rope  and  swim  for  it,  first 
throwing  the  light  across. 

"And  we'll  try  not  to  muff  it!"  Jack  called 
out. 

Jimmie  was  not  at  all  averse  to  a  swim,  for 
he  did  not  know  how  cold  the  water  of  the 
underground  stream  was.  So  he  tossed  his 
light  across,  seized  the  end  of  the  rope  Jack 
had  used  on  his  return  trip,  and  leaped  in. 

Then  his  weakness  made  itself  manifest,  for 
he  did  not  seem  to  have  the  power  to  force  his 
way  across  in  the  face  of  the  current.  He  hung 
on  bravely,  but  made  no  progress.  Jack  threw 
off  his  coat  and,  taking  hold  of  the  rope  on  his 
side,  dropped  in  and  drifted  down  to  the  strug- 
gling lad. 

"Here!"  cried  Jimmie,  as  Jack  seized  Itim 
by  the  hair  of  his  head  and  called  to  Lewis  to 
draw  in  on  the  rope,  "I'd  just  as  leave  be 
drowned  as  to  be  snatched  baldheaded!  Let 
go!" 

But  Jack  hung  on,  much  to  the  little  fellow's 
disgust,  until  both  were  on  the  ledge  where 
Lewis  stood.  Jimmie 's  teeth  rattled  like  stones 
in  a  bag  as  he  faced  the  others. 

"How  did  you  get  in  here?"  he  asked. 

' '  Never  mind  that  now,  "Jack  replied.  ' 1  We 
might  ask  you  the  same  question,  for  we  last 


228  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

saw  you  at  Alameda,  but  there  is  no  time.  Close 
the  light  and  follow  on  behind.  There'll  be 
doings  here  in  a  short  time  if  we  don't  get  out.'' 

"Can't  get  out  any  too  soon  to  please  me," 
chattered  Jimmie.  "I  never  was  so  cold  in  me 
innocent  life." 

But  once  more  the  departure  from  the  cham- 
ber was  interrupted,  for  half  a  dozen  torches 
showed  redly  down  the  tunnel,  and  then  the 
gleam  of  rifles  came  with  sullen  threat  of  a 
new  danger. 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  LAST  OF  TWO  VILLAIN& 

"Get  out  your  guns,  fellows,"  Jimmie  whis- 
pered, as  the  lights,  shining  on  rough  faces, 
came  nearer.  "They  can  come  only  one  at  a 
time  and  we  can  hold  'em  off  until  their  whis- 
kers turn  gray." 

"You've  got  your  nerve !"  Lewis  laughed,  as 
he  caught  sight  of  one  of  the  hairy  faces  under 
the  foremost  torch.  "Those  are  the  man- 
hunters  from  Alameda.  Hello,  Sol !"  he  added, 
calling  out  to  the  leader  of  the  posse. 

"Who  is  it?"  came  the  question. 

"Lewis,"  was  the  reply.  "What  do  you 
want  in  here?" 

"Well,"  replied  the  other,  approaching  and 
dropping  the  butt  of  his  automatic  rifle  to  the 
level  rock,  "we  thought  there  might  be  more 
of  the  thieves  in  here,  so  we  trailed  on  in." 

"Did  you  capture  some  one  out  there?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Four  as  tough  looking  fellows  as  ever  stole 
a  horse,"  was  the  reply,  "and  one  of  them  has 
a,  bullet  wound  in  the  shoulder.  That's  the  man 
the  murdered  storekeeper  shot,  sure  enough." 

"I  hope  so,"  Lewis  replied.    "But  we  may 


230  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

as  well  get  out  into  the  valley, ' '  lie  added.  "  I  'm 

freezing  to  death." 

-     Sol,  the  leader  of  the  posse,  now  turned  to 

Jinnnie. 

"Are  you  one  of  the  boys  who  came  here 
in  the  aeroplane?"  he  asked. 

1 1  Sure, "  replied  the  boy,  and  Jack  and  Lewis  , 
regarded  him  with   envy.     This,   then,   ac- 
counted for  his  being  there  so  soon  after  their 
arrival! 

"Who  came  with  you?"  demanded  Jack. 

"Sled  and  Leroy,"  was  the  reply.  "I  left 
'em  in  a  valley  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge. 
Guess  they'll  be  anxious  about  me." 

"Well,"  the  other  went  on,  "you  kids  left 
the  motor  boats  without  guard,  and  there's 
always  a  good  demand  for  boats  of  that 
description  in  this  country.  Perhaps  you'd 
better  go  back  and  look  after  them!" 

This  with  a  low  chuckle. 

"Why,"  Jack  replied,  "we  left  Frank  and 
Harry  in  charge  of  the  boats." 

"And  they  dug  out  the  same  day  for  this 
locality,"  replied  Sol.  "They  left  Ned  and 
Jimmie  in  charge,  and  they  came  away  in  an 
airship!" 

"I'd  like  to  know  how  you  found  all  this 
out,"  Lewis  observed.  "You've  been  in  here 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  EIVEE.  231 

three  days.  How  do  you  know  what's  been 
going  on  at  Alameda?" 

"Well,"  replied  Sol,  "we've  just  left  Frank 
and  Harry,  as  you  call  'em,  outside,  and  we 
saw  some  people  coming  this  way  in  an  air- 
ship. That  accounts  for  your  party,  I  take 
it?" 

"It  seems  to  me,"  grumbled  Jack,  "that 
Frank  and  Harry  got  here  in  less  time  than  it 
took  us  to  arrive !  They  must  have  started  a 
number  of  hours  after  we  did." 

"Anyway,"  answered  Sol,  "they've  got  a 
camp  over  in  a  valley  to  the  west,  and  are 
going  in  quest  of  the  hidden  temple  you've  all 
been  talking  about,  in  the  morning.  We  told 
'em  to  save  their  shoes  and  their  strength,  but 
they're  going,  just  the  same.  Ha!  That's 
good  bunk  about  the  temple!" 

"Hurry  up!"  Jimmie  exclaimed,  as  the  two 
showed  a  disposition  to  continue  the  conversa- 
tion. "I  want  to  get  out  of  this.  I'm  freezing, 
an'  Ned  will  think  I've  got  muddled  in  the 
cupelo  an'  wandered  away." 

The  party  lost  no  further  time,  but  made 
its  way  out  of  the  subterranean  passages  as 
swiftly  as  possible.  They  faced  the  south  when 
they  at  last  stood  on  the  ledge  outside,  and 
away  to  the  left  the  flush  of  coming  day  lay 
over  the  sky.  At  the  edge  of  the  declivity  they 


232  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

found  a  guard  of  two  men  standing  orer  the 
four  outlaws  who  had  been  captured  as  they 
left  the  tunnel  in  order  to  move  to  the  other 
end  of  it  and  so  cut  off  the  retreat  ef  the  boy 
they  had  left  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream. 

" Where's  Jake?"  one  of  them  aaked,  look- 
ing questioningly  at  Jack. 

"The  man  you  left  on  guard  in  there!" 

Jack  asked  the  question  on  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  for  reason  told  him  that  the  fellow 
could  be  asking  for  no  one  else. 

"He  tried  to  swim  the  river,"  h«  went  on, 
"and  was  swept  away." 

The  boy  thought  his  questioner  turned  a 
little  whiter  at  the  information,  and  was  about 
to  question  him  when  a  second  captive  asked: 

' '  Did  you  see  him — the  man  that  was  swept 
away?" 

"How  could  I — in  the  darkest  hole  that  ever 
set  a  body  crazy  for  light?" 

"Well,  you'd  have  known  him  if  you  had,  I 
take  it,"  said  the  other.  "He  said  he  knew 
you,  and  wanted  to  get  to  you  for  a  talk." 

"Saxby!"  cried  Jack,  a  quiver  at  the  awful 
fate  of  the  man  shaking  his  limbs.  "Did  Saxby 
die  like  that?" 

The  other  nodded  and  turned  away,  but  Jack 
was  in  no  mood  to  be  cheated  out  of  the  rest 
of  the  story,  so  he  asked: 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  233 


. . 


(He  came  to  you  with  a  story  of  a  ruined 
temple,  didn't  he?" 

The  other  nodded  and  glanced  curiously  at 
his  questioner. 

"You  told  him  you  could  help  "nm  find  itl" 

Another  sullen  nod. 

"Well,  is  there  such  a  thing  as  a  ruined  tem- 
ple hereabouts ?" 

"Blessed  if  I  know,"  was  the  reply.  "We 
never  found  anything  that  looked  like  one.  The 
man  Akbar  who  tried  to  kill  Scoby  might  have 
found  one,  but  we  did  not." 

"So  Akbar  was  here,  too?"  asked  Jack. 

"Where  is  he  now?"  Jimmie  broke  in. 

"He  crept  up  to  our  camp  and  Scoby  shot- 
just  took  a  chance  shot,  you  know — and — well, 
you'll  find  him  over  in  the  gulch  somewhere,  I 
take  it." 

"Dead!"  exclaimed  Jack,  with  horror  in  his 
eyes.  "Dead!" 

"As  a  herring,"  was  the  heartless  answer. 
"What  did  he  go  for  to  pryin'  about  our  camp 
for,  then?  Anyway,  it  was  Jake  Saxby  what 
finished  him — not  me." 

There  was  a  brief  silence,  and  then  Jimmie 
spoke,  showing  a  new  side  to  his  bubbling 
nature : 

'  *  They  both  came  to  their  death !   They  trav- 


234  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

eled  thousands  of  miles  to  find  graves  that  have 
been  waiting  for  them  since  they  were  born!" 

" That's  right,  Jimmie,"  Jack  said,  "though 
I  don't  know  where  you  ever  stumbled  on  the 
belief  of  the  fatalists.  They  came  out  here 
to  murder  each  other,  or  any  one  who  stood  in 
their  way,  and  this  is  the  end!  They  died 
without  coming  to  the  goal  they  hoped  for. 
It  is  all  in  the  game!" 

He  tried  to  smile  at  the  last  sentence,  but  his 
face  still  showed  the  shock  he  had  sustained. 
He  had  known  both  of  the  dead  men  well  at 
the  home  of  his  father  in  New  York,  and 
though  they  had  both  discarded  all  law  in  their 
attempts  to  gain  a  fabled  treasure,  it  seemed 
to  him  that  the  punishment  had  been  almost 
too  swift  and  too  severe. 

"Well,  they  will  trouble  us  no  more,"  Jim- 
mie observed.  ' 1  They  didn  't  last  long  out  here, 
did  they?"  he  added.  "I  guess  they  wasn't 
familiar  with  the  roles  they  were  playing.'' 

"No ;  they  were  not  naturally  outlaws,"  Jack 
said.  "Their  better  natures  were  warped  by 
the  thought  of  easily-acquired  wealth.  I'm 
sorry!" 

Taking  the  prisoners  with  them,  the  vigilants 
nov  proceeded  down  the  slope,  over  a  ridge 
which  taxed  the  strength  of  the  wounded  boy, 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  235 

and  so  on  into  a  valley  through  which  a  slen- 
der thread  of  water  ran. 

Frank  and  Harry  arose  from  blankets 
spread  before  a  bed  of  coals  as  the  party 
approached  and  stood  gazing  at  Jimmie  with 
astonishment  showing  in  their  sleepy  faces. 
Jimmie  grinned  and  made  faces  at  them,  and 
the  two  dripping  boys  hovered  the  fire. 

"I  guess  you  ain't  the  only  ones!"  he  cried. 

"How  did  you  get  in  here?"  asked  Frank. 
"And  where  is  Ned?" 

"Ned  and  Leroy  are  over  here  in  a  valley 
somewhere,"  Jimmie  replied.  "I'm  blessed 
of  I  know  where  the  bloomin'  valley  is,  but 
they're  in  it,  all  the  same — if  they're  not  out 
lookin'  me  up." 

"So  you  found  Leroy,  did  you?"  asked 
Harry. 

"No;  he  found  us." 

"What's  he  doing  here?"  Harry  went  on. 
"Why  has  he  been  trailing  us  all  along  and 
made  himself  known  only  now?" 

"He's  here  on  business!"  Jimmie  replied, 
with  a  grin.  "You  wait  until  you  see  him. 
He'll  tell  you  all  about  it,  I  reckon." 

While  the  four  boys  compared  notes,  each 
smilingly  accusing  the  other  of  trying  to 
"make  a  sneak"  on  the  temple,  the  vigilants 
were  preparing  a  breakfast  of  corn  pones, 


236  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

bacon,  eggs,  and  coffee.  It  was  broad  daylight 
when  the  meal  was  disposed  of,  and  then  Frank 
proposed  that  they  go  in  search  of  Ned  and 
Leroy. 

"I  think  I  know  this  aviator  lad,"  he  said. 
"  Anyway,  I  know  a  boy  who  used  to  coax 
policemen  off  their  beats  with  his  flute." 

"I  wish  I  owned  his  aeroplane,"  Jimmie 
exclaimed.  "Say!"  he  added,  in  a  moment, 
"why  can't  we  get  him  to  go  on  down  the  river 
with  us,  or  go  anywhere,  for  that  matter? 
We're  out  for  a  vacation,  and  I'd  like  to  have  a 
go  with  an  airship.  He  might  take  us  over  the 
South  Pacific!" 

"I  reckon  you  don't  know  much  about  the 
South  Pacific,"  Frank  answered.  "I'd  like  to 
take  a  trip  in  an  aeroplane,  but  I'm  afraid 
I'll  have  to  get  back  to  little  old  N.  Y.  when 
this  excursion  is  over.  You  and  Ned  might 
go." 

"I  couldn't  go,"  Harry  observed  regretfully. 

Jack  shook  his  head  and  looked  troubled. 

"I'll  have  to  go  home,  too,"  he  said. 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Jimmie,  "we  don't  know 
as  anyone  can  go.  Leroy  may  have  too  much 
business  on  his  hands  to  take  any  of  us.  But 
if  he  can  go  on  a  tour,  you  bet  that  Ned  and  I 
will  be  in  with  it!" 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  237 

"Haye  you  talked  with  Leroy  about  itt" 
asked  Frank. 

"Aw,  quit!  "cried  the  little  fellow.  "What's 
the  use  of  wakin'  me  up,  if  it  is  a  dream? 
Mebbehe'llgo!" 

"I  suppose  three  can  ride  the  machine,  all 
right?"  asked  Jack. 

"Sure;  we  rode  down  in  it." 

"And  carry  plenty  of  gasoline?"  Harry  put 
in. 

"Yes,  and  provisions,"  Jimmie  replied. 
"It  is  a  peach  of  a  machine,  and  Leroy  is 
going  to  get  money  for  the  model  from  the 
little  old  U.  S.  A.  The  engines  are  almost 
noiseless,  and  the  paint  renders  it  nearly  in- 
visible when  a  mile  high." 

"There  she  is  now!"  Frank  exclaimed. 
* '  Judge  for  yourself. ' ' 

The  Nelson  was  indeed  making  her  way  over 
the  rough  country  in  the  direction  of  Alameda. 
There  seemed  to  be  three  persons  on  board  of 
her,  which  Jimmie  could  not  at  all  understand, 
as  Ned  was  the  only  one  left  with  the  aviator. 

Instead  of  dropping  down  at  Alameda,  how- 
ever, the  aeroplane  struck  out  toward  the  east 
at  a  great  rate  of  speed.  In  five  minutes  she 
was  just  a  speck  on  the  sky,  and  in  a  minute 
more  was  entirely  out  of  sight,  flying  low  when 
last  seen. 


238  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOE  BOAT 

"That's  another  mystery!"  Jack  exclaimed. 
"Who  is  in  there  with  him?" 

"I'll  tell  you,"  Jimmie  replied.  "Leroy 
came  in  here  looking  for  his  brother,  who  has 
been  hiding  here.  That  is  a  long  story,  so  I'll 
not  stop  to  tell  it  here.  But  it  looks  like  he 
found  him,  and  the  man  with  him,  and  is  now 
taking  him  to  Spokane  on  the  way  back  to 
New  York." 

"Then  he's  left  us  here  to  look  out  for  our- 
selves?" 

"I  reckon  we  can  do  that,  all  right,  all 
right,"  Jimmie  laughed.  "We  did  it  before 
he  came  to  us,  didn't  we?  Besides,  I  guess 
he  hasn't  done  anything  of  the  kind.  I'll  bet 
you  a  cookie  he'll  come  back  after  Ned." 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  239 


CHAPTER  XVH. 

EIPE  FOE  ADVENTURES  IN  THE  AIR. 

Ned  and  Leroy  passed  a  very  unpleasant  half 
hour  following  the  departure  of  Jimmie.  They 
were  setting  out  in  search  of  him  when  a  faint 
glow  of  light  at  the  verge  of  the  valley  to  the 
west  attracted  their  attention.  The  illumina- 
tion seemed  to  come  through  some  half  opaque 
material,  for  it  was  dim  and  steady. 

When  the  boys  came  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
light  they  found  themselves  at  the  opening  of 
a  rocky  canyon,  an  entrance  overgrown  with 
tall  grass  and  bushes,  for  water  no  longer  swept 
down  the  cut,  and  the  earth  where  deposited 
by  former  floods  was  fertile.  Beyond  the 
thicket  was  the  illumination. 

At  first  they  could  not  make  out  what  kind 
of  a  structure  the  lights  shone  from,  or  whether 
they  were  houses  at  all,  but,  on  drawing  closer, 
they  saw  that  they  shone  forth  from  a  window 
of  a  stone  structure  which  nearly  blocked  the 
canyon.  The  sash  they  saw  was  glazed,  and  the 
glass  seemed  to  be  tinted,  like  the  stained  glass 
used  in  the  windows  of  cathedrals. 

"Here's  your  ruined  temple — inhabited!" 
Leroy  laughed. 


BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 


"It  surely  is  something,"  Ned  admitted. 
"It  is  a  wonder  you  did  not  find  it  on  your 
previous  trip  to  the  place/' 

"Never  came  into  this  valley  before,"  Leroy 
replied,  "and,  besides,  if  I  had  I  could  not  have 
seen  that  contraption  from  my  machine.  See 
how  the  walls  of  the  canyon  hover  over  it  ;  see 
how  the  thicket  guards  the  front.  It  must  be  a 
very  old  structure,  for  it  was  evidently  built 
when  the  canyon  was  flooded  at  certain  seasons 
—  see  the  channel,  dry  now,  and  filled  with 
grass  and  weeds,  which  runs  under  it." 

"I  suppose  you  have  an  idea  who  you  will 
find  in  there?"  asked  Ned. 

"I  know  whom  I  hope  to  find." 

The  boys  approached  the  window  and  lis- 
tened. There  came  the  sound  of  voices  from 
the  interior,  speaking  in  English.  r^.hey 
advanced  to  the  window,  made  their  way 
around  an  angle  of  the  house,  and  felt  along 
for  an  entrance.  It  was  a  large  building,  for 
they  walked  at  least  a  hundred  feet,  close  to 
the  canyon  wall,  always  with  their  fingers  on 
an  unbroken  surface  of  stone  wall. 

At  last  they  reached  the  rear,  where  a  door 
stood  ajar.  Looking  in,  Leroy  saw  his  brother 
sitting  at  a  table  with  his  friend,  evidently  just 
beginning  his  evening  meal.  With  a  shout  of 
pleasure  he  stepped  into  the  great  room,  closely 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  241 

followed  by  Ned.  There  is  little  need  of  say- 
ing here  what  brother  said  to  brother  at  that 
meeting.  There  is  little  need  of  following  the 
boys  as,  astounded  and  impressed,  they  wan- 
dered through  the  great  stone  building  which 
had  been  the  home  of  Richard  Leroy  and  his 
devoted  friend  for  so  long. 

It  was,  to  shorten  the  description,  a  wonder- 
ful structure  of  stone,  with  great  chambers 
and  wide,  comfortable  hearths.  There  were 
few  entrances,  and  only  one  great  window  on 
each  side,  two  of  these  very  high  up,  giving  on 
the  Trails  of  the  canyon  and  admitting  fresh  air 
but  little  light.  The  floors  were  of  stone,  and 
a  great  vault  at  one  corner  of  the  large  chamber 
where  the  men  had  been  found  disclosed  an 
iron  frame  and  a  comparatively  modern  lock. 

"I  guess  we've  found  the  hidden  temple!" 
Leroy  laughed,  as  all  four  sat  down  to  a  plenti- 
ful supper.  '  *  But,  all  the  same,  no  East  Indian 
ever  built  this.  No  old  priest  ever  hid  his  gold 
in  its  vaults — for  there  are  no  vaults!" 

"I  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about," 
Richard  Leroy  said.  "This  building  was  put 
up  in  the  early  years  of  the  struggle  between 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  Montreal 
rival  of  that  great  monopoly.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Company  had  a  lease  of  the  country  which 
is  new  British  Columbia,  and  built  a  fort  at  the 


242  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

junction  of  the  Okanogan  and  Columbia  rivers. 
The  Montreal  people,  it  is  said,  built  this  store- 
house. While  the  Hudson  Bay  people  held  the 
country  for  years,  the  French  company  man- 
aged to  get  a  good  trade  in  furs  here.  When 
the  two  corporations  consolidated,  this  old 
structure  was  deserted  and,  apparently,  for- 
gotten. It  occupies  so  sequestered  a  nook  in 
the  mountains  that  few  know  that  it  exists." 

"And  yet,"  Ned  suggested,  "  it  must  have 
been  seen  by  some  one,  years  ago,  who  tied  the 
Akbar  legend  to  it.  Without  the  building,  the 
fable  of  buried  gold  might  never  have  been 
invented.  You  see,"  he  laughed,  "some  one 
tried  to  account  for  the  existence  of  this  build- 
ing by  a  great  stretch  of  the  imagination,  hence 
the  connection  of  the  two — the  account  of 
Akbar 's  immigration  and  the  structure." 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  the  brothers 
sat  late  that  night,  recounting  their  experi- 
ences and  adventures.  Now  and  then  they  vis- 
ited the  machine  to  see  that  all  was  well  there, 
and  more  than  once  close  search  of  the  valley 
was  made  for  the  missing  boy.  In  the  early 
morning  Leroy  took  his  brother  and  his  chum 
into  the  car  and  started  for  Spokane — from 
which  city  they  were  to  journey  to  New  York 
—promising  to  return  that  same  afternoon  and 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  243 

join  Ned  and  his  friends  in  an  exploration  of 
the  lower  Columbia. 

Before  Leroy's  return,  however,  Ned  saw 
his  four  friends,  accompanied  by  Lewis,  clam- 
bering over  a  summit  which  shut  his  valley  in 
from  the  south.  Wondering  if  they  would  be 
able  to  discover  the  ruined  storehouse  which 
had  so  long  posed  as  the  ruined  temple,  Ned 
secreted  himself  there  and  remained  quiet. 
Just  as  Ned  had  expected,  the  walls  of  the 
structure  were  so  well  hidden  in  the  canyon 
that  the  boys  passed  within  a  few  yards  of  it 
without  being  aware  of  its  existence. 

When  Ned  called  them  back  and  exhibited 
"the  hidden  temple"  with  a  laughing  face, 
there  was  unlimited  hilarity  in  the  party,  Jack 
Bosworth  being  the  only  one  to  look  a  bit  dis- 
appointed. He  had  honestly  believed  in  the 
tale  written  down  in  the  book,  and  was,  as  well, 
not  a  little  nettled  that  what  stood  for  the  tem- 
ple had  been  discovered  by  Ned,  after  all. 

Jimmie  laughingly  suggested  that  they 
search  the  subterranean  vaults  for  gold,  but, 
as  there  were  no  vaults  received  only  jeers  for 
his  proposal. 

In  the  afternoon  Leroy  came  back  with  his 
aeroplane  and  carried  the  boys  out  to  the 
Columbia  river  and  the  motor  boats.  The  vig- 
il ants  came  in  later  with  their  prisoners,  who 


244  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

were,  later  on,  given  long  terms  in  the  peniten- 
tiary for  murder.  As  Saxby,  the  member  of 
the  attacking  party  who  was  not  on  trial,  could 
not  dispute  the  claims  set  up  by  the  defendants 
that  he  had  fired  the  fatal  shot,  the  prisoners 
could  not  be  convicted  of  first  degree  murder. 

The  next  morning  Ned  and  his  friends,  glad 
to  feel  the  Black  Bear  under  their  feet  again, 
were  off  on  their  way  to  the  Pacific.  Leroy 
followed  along  in  his  aeroplane,  usually  with 
Jimmie  as  a  guest,  and  many  a  night  the  two 
parties  passed  around  cheerful  campfires.  It 
was  a  long  trip  down  the  Columbia,  and  a 
thrilling  one,  for  the  lads  took  their  time  and 
enjoyed  every  minute  of  it. 

They  ran  rapids,  passed  around  falls,  swept 
past  ranches  and  little  towns  on  the  " benches," 
saw  thrifty  orchards  and  grain  fields,  inspected 
great  blocks  of  timber  which  will  one  day  give 
place  to  agricultural  products,  and  finally  came 
to  the  close  of  their  delicious  outing. 

During  the  run,  of  course,  the  subject  of  an 
extended  trip  in  the  Nelson  had  been  discussed, 
and  Leroy  had  promised  to  take  Ned  and  Jim- 
mie with  him  on  a  trip  to  some  summer  land 
where  the  experiences  would  be  new  and  excit- 
ing. When  Jack,  Frank  and  Harry  turned 
their  faces  regretfully  to  the  east,  Ned,  Jimmie 


ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER.  246 

and  the  aviator  saw  them  depart  with  real 
regret. 

The  Black  Bear  and  the  Wolf  were  taken 
apart  and  stored  away  in  a  Portland  ware- 
house, for  Ned  did  not  know  when  they  might 
want  to  use  them  again.  An  effort  had  been 
made  to  have  Harry  take  the  boats  home  with 
him,  but  this  he  declined  to  do,  saying  that 
some  day  he  would  use  them  again  on  the 
Pacific  coast. 

Then,  one  night  when  the  three  boys  sat  in  a 
hotel  parlor,  studying  over  the  maps  of  the 
North,  preparatory  to  setting  out  in  the  Nel- 
son for  adventures  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle,  a 
stranger  of  most  dignified  appearance  asked 
for  a  short  talk  with  Ned  in  private.  It  was 
midnight  before  Ned  joined  his  friends 
again.  Then  he  was  in  the  best  of  spirits  and 
the  light  of  adventure  was  in  his  eyes. 

"Boys,"  he  said,  with  a  smile,  "I've  got  a 
commission  for  the  Nelson!" 

Jimmie  swung  his  cap  in  the  air  and  began 
to  dance  about  the  room,  though  he  had,  a  few 
minutes  before,  pleaded  guilty  to  being  sleepy. 

"What  is  it?"  Leroy  asked.  "Something 
good,  I  hope." 

"Well,"  Ned  replied,  "there's  trouble  down 
in  South  America — a  revolution,  or  something 


246  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  A  MOTOR  BOAT 

like  that,  and  Uncle  Sam  wants  to  know  some- 
thing about  the  situation  down " 

* '  Hurrah ! ' '  yelled  Jimmie. 

"Wants  to  know  something  about  the  situa- 
tion down  there,"  Ned  went  on,  "and  so  we're 
going  down  there  to  see  if  we  can't  avert  a  war 
by  discovering  the  whereabouts  of  an  Ameri- 
can millionaire  who  is  said  to  be  illegally  held 
in  captivity  there." 

"We'll  get  him!"  cried  the  little  fellow. 

"When  do  we  start?"  asked  Leroy. 

"Just  as  soon  as  we  can  get  ready." 

"Say  at  daylight ! "  laughed  the  other,  and  at 
daylight,  after  a  strenuous  night's  work,  the 
Nelson  lifted  in  the  morning  air,  her  great 
planes  shining  in  the  sunlight,  and  struck  out 
for  the  continent  of  South  America. 

The  story  of  the  Boy  Scouts'  adventures 
there  will  be  told  in  the  next  volume  of  this 
series:  "Boy  Scouts  in  an  Airship;  or,  The 
Warning  from  the  Sky." 

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or,  The  Key  to  the  Treaty 

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7  Boy  Scouts  in  a  Submarine; 

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2 — Boy  Scout's  Test  of  Courage;  or.  W  nning  the  Merit  Badge. 

3— Boy  Scout's  Signal  Sender;  or.  When  Wigwag  Knowledge  Paid. 

4— Boy  Scouts  on  a  Long  Hike;  or,  to  the  Rescue  In  the  Black  Water  Swamp. 

5— Boy  Scout's  Woodcraft  Lesson;  or  Proving  Their  Mettle  in  the  Fie  d. 

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8 — Boy  Scouts  In  the  Everglades;  or,  the  Island  In  Lost  Channel. 

9 — Boy  Scouts  in  Northern  Wilds;  or,  the  Signal  From  the  Hills. 
10 — Boy  Scouts  on  the  Great  Divide;  or,  the  Ending  of  the  Trail. 
11 — Boy  Scouts  in  the  Coal  Caverns;  or,  Light  In  Tunnel  Six. 
12— Boy  Scouts  In  Alaska;  or  the  Camp  on  the  Glacier. 

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JOHil  SMITH,  U.  S.  A. 

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THE  CLINK  OF  THE  ICE  and  other  poems 

EDITION   containing   portraits   and   autographs.       Stories   of 
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FOR  BOYS 

G.  A.  Henty  was  the  most  prolific  writer  of  boy*§ 
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five  books  a  year  came  from  his  facile  pen.  No 
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1  Among  Malay  Pirates 

2  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie 

3  Boy  Knight,  The 

4  Bravest  of  the  Brave 

5  By  England's  Aid 

6  By  Pike  and  Dyke 

7  By  Right  of  Conquest 

8  By  Sheer  Pluck 

9  Captain  Bayley'?  Heir 

10  Cat  of  Bubastes 

1 1  Col.  Thorndyke's  Secret 

12  Cornet  of  Horse,  The 

13  Dragon  and  the  Raven 

14  Facing  Death 

15  Final  Reckoning,  A 

16  For  Name  and  Fame 

17  For  the  Temple 

18  Friends,  Though  Divided 

19  Golden  Canon 

20  In  Freedom's  Cause 

21  In  the  Reign  of  Terror 

22  In  Times  of  Peril 

23  Jack  Archer 


24  Lion  of  St.  Mark 

25  Lion  of  the  North 

26  Lost  Heir,  The 

27  Maori  and  Settler 

28  One  of  the  28th 

29  Orange  and  Green 

30  Out  on  the  Pampas 

31  Queen's  Cup,  The 

32  Rujub,  the  juggler 

33  St.  George  for  England 

34  Sturdy  and  Strong 

35  Through  the  Fray 

36  True  to  the  Old  Flag 

37  Under  Drake's  Flag 
33  With  Clive  in  India 

39  With  Lee  in  Virginia 

40  With  Wolfe  in  Canada 

41  Young  Buglers,  The 

42  Young  Carthaginians 

43  Young  Colonists,  Tho 

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45  Young  Midshipman 


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4  Jack  Harkaway  at  Oxford 

5  Jack  Harkaway's  Adventures  at  Oxford 

6  Jack  Harkaway  Among  the  Brigands  of  Italy 

7  Jack  Harkaway's  Escape  From  the  Brigands 

of  Italy 

8  Jack  Harkaway's  Adventures  Around  the  World 

9  Jack  Harkaway  in  America  and  Cuba 

10  Jack  Harkaway's  Adventures  in  China 

11  Jack  Harkaway's  Adventures  in  Greece 

12  Jack  Harkaway's  Escape  From  the  Brigands 

of  Greece 

13  Jack  Harkaways  Adventures  in  Australia 

14  Jack  Harkaway  and  His  Boy  Tinker 

15  Jack  Harkaway's  Boy  Tinker  Among  the  Turks 

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"Our  Baby's  Journal"  is  that  book 

This  is  a  work  of  art  throughout 

Cover  decorated  on  front  and  back 
in  soft  multi-colors  of  beautiful  and 
pleasing  design.  Eight  pages  are  in 
water  colors  done  in  unique  and  ar- 
tistic style  by  the  very  best  artists. 
Printed  on  the  finest  quality  of 
lithographer's  paper  and  delicately 
bound,  to  meet  the  most  exacting 
tastes. 

A  copy  of  this  beautiful  book  will  be  sent  to  any 
address  postpaid,  upon  receipt  of  50c  in  stamps,  money 
order  or  currency,  by  the  publishers. 

M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  CO. 

7tl-727  S.  Dearborn  St.  CHICAGO 

Ask  for  Catalog  of  other  Art  Gift  Booklets 


Life  and  Sayings  or 

THEODORE 

By  THOWIA8    VU. 

Introduction  by  Charles  Walter  Brown,  A.  M. 

An  ideal  American,  the  pride  of  the  Rough  Riders, 
320  pages,  new  plates,  embellished  with  numerous  illus- 
trations printed  on  super-calendered  paper,  beautifully 
bound  in  silk-finished  binders'  cloth,  stamped  with 
unique  die  in  gold  and  ink.  Containing  complete  biog- 
raphy and  symposium  of  brilliant  thoughts  and  stirring 
words  from  the  Essays  and  Orations  of  President 
Roo?evelt  with  classified  index.  A  desirable  book  and 
one  that  embraces  the  best  that  President  Roosevelt  has 
done  in  a  literary,  political  and  military  way. 

K_lfe    and    De.e>cis    of 

ETHAN   ALLEN  A*  TI»  c««  *«.«. 

By  Charles  Walter  Brown,  A.  M.,  Author  of  "John  Paul  Jones,"  "Nathan 

Hale,"  "LaFayette"  Etc.  Illustrated. 
The  hero  of  Ticonderoga  and  leader  of  the  Green* 
Mountain  Boys  is  best  known  for  his  characteristic  de-l 
mand  upon  the  British  garrison  at  Fort  Ticon  deroga,  onl 
Lake  Champlain,  to  surrender  "in  the  name  o  f  the  Con-l 
tinental  Congress  and  the  Great  Jehovah."  This  book! 
not  only  givea  a  full  account  of  the  exploits  of  Colonel] 
Allen,  out  contains  also  a  brief  history  of  Vermont,! 
formerly  called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  in  her  con-l 
tention  with  the  New  York  authorities,  who  opposed! 
Vermont's  admission  into  the  Union,  but  which  was! 
finally  accomplished  by  Ethan  Allen.  "It  is  the  best! 
•life'  of  Ethan  Allen  published."  —  Chicago  Chronicle. 
12mo,  cloth,  nearly  300  pages. 

The    t^lf&   and    Deeds    of 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES   of  Naval  Fame 

By  Charles  Walter  Brown.  A.  M.f  Author  of  "Nathan  Hale,"  "Ethan  Al- 
len," "LaFayette,"  Etc.    Illustrated. 

American  history  gleams  with  the  brilliant  achieve- 
ments of  her  adopted  sons.  No  historian  ever  wearies 
in  telling  of  the  glorious  deeds  and  self-eacrinces  of  La- 
Fayette, DeKalb,  Pulaski,  Kosciuszko,  DeGrasse, 
Rochambeau,  Steuben,  St.  Clair,  D'Estaing  and  John 
Paul  Jones,  who  gave  up  home  and  country  to  aid  the 
struggling  colonists  in  their  long  fight  for  freedom. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  patriotic  books,  both  from  a 
literary  and  artistic  standpoint,  ever  issued.  It  is 
printed  on  a  superior  quality  of  paper  with  a  dozen  or 
more  half-tone  portraits  of  the  principal  actors  who  par- 
_  _  ticipated  in  our  struggle  for  independence,  together  with 

a  chart  and  views  of  Jones'  most  daring  exploits  on  the  coasts  of  England 
and  on  the  Black  Sea,  with  his  portrait  in  the  full  uniform  of  Admiral 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  of  which  he  was  the  founder.  Cover  stamped 
in  red,  white  and  gold  on  a  navy  blue  silk  cloth,  showing  in  beautiful  col- 
ors  the  Colonial  flags  and  American  shield  with  its  thirteen  stars  and 
stripes,  with  Jones'  sword  in  gold  as  ornamental  back  stamp.  "This 
book  is  a  credit  to  any  publishing  house."  —  Detroit  Free  Prut.  Size, 
5H*7Ji;  nearly  300  pages;  12mo;  cloth. 
Any  of  the  above  books  sent  postpaid  to  any  address  in  the  U.  S.,  Canada 

or  Mexico,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  $1.00. 
M.  A.  DOMOHVB  «  CO.  4O7-429  D«*rborn  St~  CHICAGO 


ALWAYS  ASK  FOR  THE  DONOHUE 

COMPLETE  EDITIONS  — THE  BEST  FOR  LEAST  MONEY 


WOODCRAFT 

for  Boy  Scouts  and  Others 

By  OWEN  JONES  and  MARCUS  WOODMAN 

With  a  Message  to  Boy  Scouts  by  SIR  BADEN- 
POWE  JL,,  Founder  of  the  Boy  Scouts'  Movement. 


Tl  1 


NE  of  the  essential  requirements  of  the  Boy 
Scout  training  is  a  Knowledge  of  Wood- 
craft. This  necessitates  a  book  embracing 
all  the  subjects  and  treating  on  all  the  topics  that 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  Woodcraft  implies. 

This  book  thoroughly  exhausts  the  eubject.  It  im- 
parts a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  woods  from  fungus 
growth  to  the  most. stately  monarch  of  the  forest: 
it  treats  of  the  habits  and  lairs  of  all  the  feathered  and 
furry  inhabitants  of  the  woods.  Shows  how  to  trail 
wild  animals;  how  to  identify  birds  and  beasts  by 
their  tracks,  calls,  etc.  Tells  how  to  forecast  the 
weather,  ana  in  fact  treats  on  every  phase  of  nature 
with  which  a  Boy  Scout  or  any  woodman  or  lover  of 
nature  should  be  familiar.  The  authorship  guarantees 
it's  authenticity  and  reliability.  Indispensable  to  "Boy 
Scouts"  and  others.  Printed  from  large  clear  type  on 
superior  paper. 

Embellished  With  Over  100  Thumb  Nail 
Illustrations  Taken  From  Life 

Bound  in  Cloth.     Stamped  with  unique  and 
appropriate  designs  in  ink. 

Price,  75C  Postpaid 
M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  CO. 

701-727  S.  Dearborn  St.  CHICAGO 


from  which  it  was  borrowed 


SRtF     JAN  21 

QU 


.Date:     Tue,  17  Sep  91  12:06  PDT 
»  To:       ECL4BAT 

Subject:  SRLF  PAGING  REQUEST 


Deliver  to 
Shelving  # 


UCSD  CENTRAL 

A   OOO  057  886  4 


Item  Information 

Ralphson,  Harvey  G. 

Boy  Scouts  in  a  motor  boat 

Item     : 

ORION  #   :  348028 IMC 

Requester  Information 
Unit  :  UNKNOWN 
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User  Information 

Name    inness 


Lib  card 
Phone 


grad/lit 


or»     advei 


DC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  III 


^/-^ 


